


unexpected reunion

by Truly_Morgan



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Older!Dipper, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Weirdmageddon, Slow Burn, but it nothing really big, don't know how it will go, ford pines is suspicious, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:22:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 35,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22056244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Truly_Morgan/pseuds/Truly_Morgan
Summary: Dipper and Mabel are on vacation at Gravity Falls for yet another summer. They thought things would go just as they usually go: Weird adventure, discovery and good memories with their friends and Grunkles.But things might be a little different when Dipper decides to vision the 'grave' of a certain demon and things go... a little bit weird.
Relationships: Bill Cipher/Dipper Pines
Comments: 16
Kudos: 340





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't remember where I got this idea, it just poped in my head and I was "neat, gotta write that", but now I don't exactly know how to continue it, so sorry about that, might be a little weird.

Dipper dropped his bags on the bed, starting to stretch a little. He was really happy to finally arrive at the shack, the bus ride from Piedmont is pretty long and not the most comfortable one either. He quickly took a look at the room, seeing that nothing had moved since last summer, other than Soos might have dusted the room before they arrived.

He left out a little chuckle when he heard Mabel in the other room talking to the phone loudly, most likely with one of her friends. He got out of his room, walking toward the other one present in the attic. At some point, they had to split room, question of privacy, and everyone realised that there was actually a room up there, even if it was mostly used as a storage room. It hadn't taken long for them to change it into somewhere Mabel could live for the summer.

He knocked on the open door, waiting for his twin to signal him he could get in, entering and sitting at the desk. Now that he was focusing more on what Mabel was saying, she seemed to be talking with their Grunkles. He then looked a little concerned, hoping nothing bad had happened. Mabel seemed to sense his concern since she offered him a smile with a thumbs up, not wanting his brother to worry himself for nothing.

“They are going to arrive a little later than scheduled” finally said the young woman when she told them goodbye and hanged up, “Nothing to worry about, just some car problem on the way here, after all the Stanmobile isn't young anymore” she commented with a laugh, gaining a laugh from her twin. No, that car wasn't young anymore and it had been through a lot of stuff through the years.

“Well, at least they are doing fine and we know they were already on the road” said Dipper with a smile, standing up again. “You know if Soos needs our help?”. The young man had noticed the work Soos seemed to be doing to this old shack, supposing he took some days off doing tour before the tourist season. The more they were to work on it, the quicker he could finish. But he only received a shrug from Mabel, as she didn't ask when they spoke with the man at their arrival.

So the twins both went to join Soos, finding him in the gift shop working on some light. “Hey Soos, you need some help with your work?” asked Mabel happily.

“No dudes” smiled the older man from the top of it ladder “You two must be exhausted from the travel and I'm already nearly finished, thanks to this little dude” he explained while pointing toward Kevin, one of Wendy's little brother, who was cleaning the store. The twins smiled, amused that it was yet again a Corduroy that was helping in the gift shop. After all, Wendy had to leave for college, even if she was visiting for the summer when she could.

"Well, if we are not needed~" sing sang Mabel as she was reaching for her phone, calling one of her friends already. Dipper's choice that he would rather go relax and unpack his bags. Once he was upstairs, he spied a little to see whom Mabel had called, making him smile when he saw a really expensive car pull in front of the shack. Pacifica wasn't a really surprising pick.

It took him a couple of minutes to unpack his clothes, then going for his books and computer. He finished with his journals, going for yet another year to hide them in the chest under some clothes, right at the bottom. He couldn't have Ford find them, especially after they destroy the original journals after the whole weirdmageddon thing. Well, let say he might have made copies of most of the pages before Ford could destroy it and created his own journals to keep track of what he could find while exploring. How could he have left so many great information go to waste?

He stood up when everything was done, looking around as he was searching what to do now, especially now that Mabel was gone, that Soos didn't need him for now and that the Grunkles were still on the road. Is eyes then stopped on the triangular window, reminding him of events from which he had mixed feelings about. He seemed to hesitate, before going for the idea that came to his mind.

He quickly grabbed his messenger bag, throwing in his phone, his small pencil case and his notebook, just in case he came across something interesting on his way. He did have to go through one of the journals to find some indication to the location he needed to go. He was soon after gone from the shack, telling Soos that he was going out for some time so he wouldn't worry.

It took him less than a couple of minutes before feeling familiar inside the forest, knowing pretty well where he was going without even really needing the indication he had taken with him. It's only after at least twenty minutes of walk that he got to his destination: Bill Cipher remaining statue.

Dipper left his bag hanging on a low branch, approaching the stoned figure. He didn't know himself why he came here, he never did in the last seven years. Well, it did traumatize him and his twin, it took a really long time before he was able to actually sleep without fear of seeing the triangular demon. Though through the last years, he did wanted to talk about it with the others and what he had lived with Bill, it wasn't all nightmares in his case, but it was a really touchy subject so he never tried again after the first rejection. Even if the idea of one day seeing the demon again was making him anxious, he was feeling pretty calm now about it.

He simply took a seat in front of him, elbow positioned on his knees and his head resting on his joined hands. “Seem like no one came and took care of you in all these years” said Dipper with an amused tone, looking at the dirt and moss that had grown on him. “Guess most people forgot about you after your tentative to take over and I honestly doubt any of us wanted to visit you” he thought aloud.

Somewhere away, in the Mindscape, a certain demon was trying to do some work when he felt something weak. He sighed in frustration, wondering what was happening around him in that human dimension. Really, they couldn't leave him alone to regain his power after those stupid kids managed to weaken him like that. It was better not be another meatsack trying something bad with it.

In no time he was able to go back, knowing no one could see him like that anyway, though it meant he couldn't do anything in the physical world. It wouldn't stop him from tormenting the night of whoever was disturbing his place. He was instead surprised by someone sitting in front of him, saying: “I don't even know why I came here myself”.

He was surprised to recognize the young Pine Tree, even if he wasn't as young as he was before. How long was it since the last time he saw him? He couldn't say, human years weren't something he understood very well. But all this wasn't really interesting, the Pines boy was probably here to do something to the stone figure, he could deal with his sleep later.

"But I guess it's good to see you again, even after all you did". That statement stopped him, making the demon suddenly interested, floating closer. What was he even talking about? "I can't get out of my head the nice thing you did, even if it was just to get my naive younger self to trust you and do what you wanted".

There was a silence, as if the boy was thinking, before restarting "I wanted to talk about you with the others, but they still won't try, I can't blame them about it though, you messed us up a lot". The demon rolled his eyes, not believing he did that much to them. Humans are so fragile, tsk.

"So I guess the only way is to talk directly to what remains of you, at least you won't tell me to stop" chuckled the young man, before becoming silent again. Bill could feel various feelings coming from the human, all contradicting each other, at least from what he could understand.

He then seemed to start talking about stuff related to his trauma, all of which he was never really able to tell Mabel, not wanting to be a burden to her. It was good to finally be able to say it out loud, talking about the thing he was able to recover from, or at least to the best he could and some of the stuff he was still struggling with. As Dipper was laying out his thought, Bill was listening, curious about what effect he had on him, it was interesting to hear actually.

After some time the sky was starting to look warmer, the temperature slowly dropping. That's when Dipper finally stop talking, at this point it was a lot of random stuff about paranormal and life in general, as if just passing time. Bill had at multiple times gone back to the Mindscape to do something else when things were getting boring, coming back soon after.

He stood up, reaching for his bag. He seemed to be ready to go, but stopped on his trail, making the demon stay, curious of what he was going to do.

“Well... um.. I guess I can say goodbye, or maybe next time” said Dipper, crouching down to go and take the stone hand, as if to give it a shake. Then something weird happened, the place where their hand had joined was starting to light up, surprising both of them.

Dipper could feel his tattoo starting to burn a little, making him panic, not knowing what was going one, his eyes growing wide when he couldn't let go of the thing. "nononononono what is happening" he mumbled to himself, trying to pry his hand away with the other.

Bill then started to shine, feeling sucked in toward the statue, even if he was trying to go against it. He was cursing against the young man, not understanding what he had done and clearly, the human didn't know much about it either.

Relief washed over Dipper when he was able to let go, falling on his butt on the ground as he was still pulling before. The relief didn't stay really long as he could see a yellow triangular shape rise from the stoned figure, an eye opening soon after. Then they stared at each other.

Dipper was so confused as to what was happening, he probably hadn't been that confused in a long time, and maybe not as much. What was Bill doing here? How was he even here? Didn't they got rid of him years ago?

"Well well well, if this is not my good old meatsack, Pine tree!" cheered the demon, as if he hadn't listened to him since earlier "How long has it been? You've changed a lo-" he was suddenly stopped when he felt a strange feeling before he could feel his body be torn.

Dipper was now petrified by the horror going in front of him. Cracking and flesh-tearing sound coming from the weird form of muscle, bone and skin that was forming in front of him, slowly taking a more human form in front of him. When all was done, he stared at the new naked form in front of him that was trying to keep balanced with the help of a nearby trunk.

Okay, Dipper was mistaken earlier, this is the most confusing and horrifying thing he had witnessed in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the transformation scene is inspired by the one made by Wamaiiwoods in ['A diffrent form, a diffrent time'](https://wamaiiwoods.tumblr.com/post/171339398678/wamaiiwoods-a-different-form-a-different-time)


	2. Chapter 2

_When all was done, he stared at the new naked form in front of him that was trying to keep balanced with the help of a nearby trunk._

Dipper couldn't believe it. Was that Bill? In a human form, but without the need of one already on earth? Why did this happen?

He was simply stuck there, observing the figure he could see clearly as a man, blushing a little of embarrassment before focusing higher. Bill seemed to have blond hair, looking nearly golden, even if the lower part was closer to being black. He was really pale, though he supposed it was because that body never really saw any sun before. The dark marks on his forearm, and maybe somewhere else, were just even more visible like this, mostly patterns with triangles, which wasn't really that much of a surprise at this point since everything seemed to be triangles with Bill. Then he took a look at his eyes. One of them was looking pretty normal, if one was forgetting the golden colour of the iris, but the left one was black with a golden iris, this one was really catching the attention.

Dipper was taken out of his observation when he could hear Bill curse to himself. "What happen!? Why do I look like one of you meatsack?! I can do nearly anything like this, I don't have enough power!". Dipper back away a little at the anger he could feel in the demon tone, seeing his left iris turn bright red, turning toward the human.

"What did you do Pine Tree?" asked Bill as he was taking unstable steps towards him, visibly not used to walk. Dipper was just backing off at every step until his back touches a trunk. "I-I really don't know Bill!" he responded in a stutter, his voice going a little higher at the end, scared that he was really screwed. "I just took the hand and then I felt burning on my forearm and this happened" he said, hand vaguely showing him to say what happened.

Bill frowned at that mention, crouching once he was close enough, grabbing his right arm. Dipper wanted to take his arm back, but the grip was really tight and trying would probably make Bill even angrier. Soon enough, the demon had ripped off the leather bracelet that was covering most of his tattoo, letting Bill clearly see what it was.

Dipper looked away, a little embarrassed that Bill was seeing this, he would never have thought he would see it. On his inner wrist there was a pine tree symbol pointing towards his palm, and just a little higher above it there was Bill Cipher wheel, but there was no other symbols but the pine tree one.

Bill was feeling confused, or he guessed that's what this body was feeling. Ugh, he was going to deal with feelings and emotions now? Why would the boy tattoo this on himself? hadn't he said he had caused him damages? He looked up at Dipper, but the human wouldn't look at him, his face a little redder than before.

“Look... I don't know if it could have caused it” started Dipper without turning toward him “Never thought it would do something like this, It was an impulsive choice and Mabel was not totally sober when she suggested it, we thought it would look nice and be a sort of reminder” he tried to explain, feeling Bill hand losing up so he could pull it back toward himself instead. “It really wasn't for some kind of summoning, we thought you were dead”

That last comment got an amused laugh, making Dipper finally turn towards Bill. "You really thought this would kill me?" Asked the demon. Dipper finally left a chuckle escapes his lips, sort of relieved he wasn't going to hurt him and that his anger had passed, or at least a little. "I had some doubt, to be honest" admitted Dipper "But I never looked into them".

He couldn't get to fully relax, not knowing what the demon could do now that he was in the physical world. But... maybe he would be okay to deal with? He did mention that he was weaker now, didn't he?

Silence had settled between them, Bill still looking at the tattoo. Dipper thought that maybe he could give it a chance and maybe learn more about the demon. Not that he trusted him, really, he just felt like he couldn't let him walk around Gravity Falls alone.

"I can help you until you can go back to your original form" suggested the young man, getting the full attention of Bill. He gains a smile from him as if the idea was something funny. "My my, why would my little Pine Tree wants to help me, got a soft spot for an old friend" he said jokingly.

“Of course not!” responded Dipper quickly “I just can't let you walk around freely and do bad stuff” he explained, “Also... you won't get far in the state you are, not without having the cop call on you” he pointed out about the other man nudity.

Bill looked down at himself, his expression seeming to agree with him. He then snapped his finger, but nothing change, so he tried a couple more times. He then seemed frustrated, Dipper guessing that he normally would have been able to summon some kind of clothing. "I can lend you some clothes for the rest of the day and we can go see what we can find in town tomorrow" suggested Dipper to calm him down. "Yeah, because I won't be wearing your clothes all the time I'm stuck like this" affirmed the demon, which made the human roll his eyes.

They finally got up, the surrounding forest starting to get darker, which wasn't something Dipper liked. He took out his phone to use it as a flashlight, starting to walk, making sure from time to time that Bill was following behind. They were again silent, but this time it wasn't as tense as before, Dipper calmer than he was after all this craziness. He really wasn't expecting to bring back a demon in is summer vacation. To his surprise, nothing really seemed to try and approach them in the dark, he wasn't complaining, he hadn't had the mind to deal with some nocturne creature at the moment, a demon was enough.

After a long walk, light from the shack was piercing through the trunk, making Dipper slow down in his track. He was starting to doubt his idea was good, but he couldn't back down on it. He wasn't sure if he could hide Bill for a long time, but at the same time, maybe they would find a solution easily. He finally stopped, turning towards Bill.

"You have to be discreet, I can't have Mabel or the Stans know you are here" said Dipper, knowing very well he would be in great trouble if they knew he somehow summoned back Bill but was also helping him. "Sure sure whatever, can't promise much about that though, but I will try, I'd rather not get shot again by one of you" responded Bill while waving is hand as if it was nothing. He didn't know how much this body could take for now, so having to deal with three angry Pines wasn't on his to-do list for now.

Dipper than started to go toward the shack again, going at the windows to try and see where Mabel was. They were lucky, Mabel seemed to still be at Pacifica house, otherwise, she would be cooking with Soos right now, so he could sneak the demon through Mabel room without trouble. "Okay, I'm going to help you to get on the gift shop roof, you just have to pass to the other side of the roof, you're going to find where you tried to make a deal with me before" he whispered to Bill, gaining a roll of the eyes as if the demon didn't already know about most of the shack.

So they did that, Dipper helped Bill on the lower roof, trying is best not to look at him as he was going up, before going inside through the front door. “I'm back!” he called, going straight for the stair “Can you make me a plat? I got to take a shower and I will be upstairs working on something” he asked Soos, receiving a “Yes dude”. Well, at least Soos wasn't hard to convince on that, he wasn't really one to try and invade their privacy.

Dipper went straight for Mabel's room, quickly opening the window so Bill could slide in. It was big enough for him to pass, which was pretty good. As the demon was looking around curiously, the human was replacing the bed to make it look as if no one had passed here. Dipper finally pushed Bill toward the door, telling him he needed to shower.

“You think I stink?” ask the demon amused. “No, but you're dirty from walking around the forest butt naked, I'm not lending you any clothes or letting you in my room like this”. He simply abandoned Bill in the bathroom, supposing he could figure out how to use a shower, it wasn't difficult after all, going instead to get some clothes that would fit.

Bill was a little taller and bigger than him, so he had to dig for some of his clothes that were too big for him. He could only find some jogging and a t-shirt, supposing it would do the job for now. He changed himself into more comfortable clothes to sleep in, the others one dirty from crawling on the ground earlier.

He finally went back to Bill, only hearing the water start when he opened the door, not seeing anything wrong in entering since the demon was walking naked around him for at least a whole hour. He was simply going to drop the cloth on the counter when he heard Bill complaining about the water being way too cold "How can you take a shower like this, I thought you humans were weak to cold".

Dipper had to restrain himself from facepalming himself, opening a little the shower curtain to turn on the hot water too. "You need to turn both" he said, sounding a little desperate. It was going to be a long adventure apparently. He heard a positive hum, before leaving, telling him he could use the product on the lower shelf.

He went back to his room since he couldn't go get some food, otherwise, Soos would wonder why the shower was still running. After fifteen minutes he saw Bill coming in the room, his normal eye redder, only making Dipper guessed that he hadn't closed his eyes after washing his hair. He choices not to comment on that, supposing the demon would learn from that himself.

Dipper left after telling Bill to sit and wait for him, saying he would go and get some food. He did go back to the bathroom to make sure he hadn't made a mess in it, before going downstairs. He thanked Soos for the food, sneaking up two plates instead of one. When he finally came back in his room he left out a groan, going to place the plate on his desk.

Bill couldn't stay where he asked him to, no, of course not. He had to go through all the stuff the younger one had, at least he hadn't made a total mess while doing so. "Could you leave my stuff alone" asked Dipper as he was grabbing a book on the supernatural and placing it back on the shelf.

"You got some interesting book" commented Bill, who simply went to sit on the chair, marking its spine on itself. "But where did you put those precious journals of yours?" he asked with a smirk. Dipper didn't know why he wanted them, honestly doubting Ford had ever found any information on that kind of situation. "We destroyed them not long after your defeat" simply answered the human.

This made Bill stop spinning around, frowning at him, visibly a little irritated by that information. "Tsk, all my precious help going to waste, if I had known I wouldn't have lost my time" said the demon. Dipper bit the inside of his check, restraining himself from saying he was able to actually keep most of the information in the three first journals.

He was proud to have been able to do so and that none of the Grunkles ever notice. Sure, he was sometimes feeling a little guilty not to tell Ford, but he was still proud of himself. A shame he couldn't really brag about it a little, even with Mabel. Sure, she most likely knew, since he never really hid it from her, but they never spoke about it.

He instead went for half the story. “Ford thought it would be too dangerous to keep them around because of all the knowledge in it... now stop being salty and eat” simply asked Dipper.

The young man went to sit on his bed, plate in hand and eating the pasta he brought up. He was looking back up at Bill from time to time, making sure he hadn't angered him with his response. Well, seemed like he was okay as he was slowly eating, still looking around the room, as if not believing him fully.

“Anyway, where's Shooting Start and the older twins?” asked Bill when he focused again on Dipper. “Abandoned by your family?” he asked with a smirk.

The idea made Dipper a little uneasy, knowing he and Mabel were not passing as much time together as they did younger, but he knew they were just as close. He brushed away this worry, going for answering truly instead, no need in lying about it anyway. “The Stans had a car problem on the way so they are going to arrive later, Mabel is most likely at a friend's house” he said before finishing his plate, placing it back on the desk.

"Never thought they would go away from their shack" admitted Bill, especially Stanley, who had poured a lot of years in the whole concept of the Mystery Shack. Maybe they were getting too old now, how old were they now anyway? He didn't even know how many years had gone for them.

“Stan still owns it, Soos just have some co-owning or something like that, they just do something else now that they are finally together” answer Dipper. The human went and grabbed his laptop from the desk, opening a new doc, he for sure wasn't going to open anything related to the journal in front of Bill. He needed to keep track of all the things they could find and tomorrow he would most probably have forgotten some details.

"Oh, that reminds me of something~" said Bill while placing his empty plate on the desk, rolling closer "What are you doing, let me see".

Dipper protectively brought the laptop closer to himself. He remembers what the demon did to the one he was trying to crack in and he didn't want it to have the same faith. "You can't touch it!" he said defensively. He was surprised when this brought a pout on Bill's face, not expecting him to do this. He was expecting more anger than pouting from him. Really dealing with the demon was hard. Was he just bored and trying to find something to do?

"Come on Pine Tree! You don't let me do anything here, and I'm actually nice to listen to you right now because I could be doing worse, I just want to see" he said. Well, the human guessed it was true, Bill was a very chaotic being, it was surprising he actually listened to him, so he could probably go with it. Clearly, he was just bored.

He left out a sigh, putting the computer back on his laps as he was tapping the place next to him. “Sure, whatever, just don't touch” he answered, giving in. It wasn't long before Bill was sitting really close to him, back against the wall, looking at what he was doing. “So, what's this all about?”.

"I thought about documenting our research, it's always simpler to keep track of what we can find or what happens" he explained, going on a little longer with examples where he forgot to do so and things went a little more south, getting caught up in his own story. He didn't have the chance to often talk about those things since Mabel couldn't focus more than a couple of minutes, even if she tried her best to do so. He suddenly stopped, realising he was rambling about stuff Bill most likely didn't care about. "Anyway, that why I started to take notes now, so I don't forget anything".

He could hear Bill humming in comprehension, before pointing at a part of the note, telling him he should add something. Dipper was a little surprised that the demon was helping, but guessed it was because he had some benefits from better notes. Well, at least having both sides were going to help a lot.

They worked on this until late in the night, often arguing about what had or hadn't really happened, going on a tangent unrelated to the work. The tiredness was clearly not helping them focus. It after finally agreeing on one last thing that Dipper saved and closed his computer, putting it back in its place on the desk, standing up to stretch himself.

“Let go to sleep now, so we can go get you some clothes tomorrow” suggested Dipper, going towards the closet to find a sleeping bag. He was preparing Bill bed, as the demon was looking at him curiously, before asking “You don't want me to sleep on the floor”.

“Yes, I don't want a dream demon in my bed when I sleep” respond Dipper. They then argue for some minutes, before Dipper told him he was going to kick him out if he didn't listen. Silence floated around them, both knowing very much that the human wouldn't, and couldn't, do that. Bill simply throwing his hands in the air, letting out an annoyed sound, before going to his sleeping bag.

Well, it was more comfortable than he thought since Dipper placed a couple of blanket under it and gave him a pillow, making it less hard to sleep in. He wasn't going to say thanks though or admit he was wrong. He simply watched Dipper going to bed after closing the light, mumbling a "good night" before laying down, his back facing the demon. "Bad night~" simply responded the demon amused.

Dipper would probably wish he hadn't slept that night since he was actually having a bad sleep, caught in a nightmare he hadn't had in years. Out of curiosity, Bill tried to see what it was, feeling relieved that he could still enter the human dream, though he had to touch him directly. "Pff, got over it years ago my ass" thought the demon to himself when he realised Dipper was dreaming about Weirdmageddon and the triangle demon.

He decided not to do anything about it, it wasn't his job to make sure some humans had a good sleep. He was a dream demon, not some guardian angel. He simply slept, happy to see he could still access the Mindscape when his body was out, though he couldn't do much.

He really needed to get back to normal, or at least get back all his power.


	3. Chapter 3

Dipper was the first awake and pretty abruptly about that. Well, at least he wasn't having his nightmare anymore, that was that, though he was still tired. He didn't really try to go back to sleep, seeing it was eighth in the morning anyway. He stayed in his bed a little longer, trying to calm himself before finally getting up, thinking that a shower would be a good thing to help him be less tired for the morning.

He took a quick glance at the demon, his sleeping form telling him he would most likely not do much damage in the couple of minutes his shower would take. He grabbed a clean pair of jeans, a shirt and some clean underwear before going for it. He still didn't take much time, not wanting to let Bill with no one watching over him.

'Maybe I could have taken longer' thought Dipper while drying his hair with a towel, the demon still asleep on the ground. He hesitated before crouching down next to him, shaking him up a little to wake him up. “Wake up, we're going shopping” he simply said after he saw the demon open his eyes, grumbling something about not wanting to get up, even if he did anyway.

"I'm not going out with those, right?" asked Bill, looking at himself in the mirror on the wall. Dipper looked at him confused, why couldn't he. “Why not?”. He catches the demon's eyes through the reflexion, Bill looking as if he thought Dipper was really stupid for his question. "Sure, those fit you, but I need something more proper to go out" said the demon.

Dipper didn't respond for some time, as if he was waiting for Bill to say he was joking. Sure, it was a really casual look he had right now, but he could deal with it for now, no? Apparently no, since Bill was dead serious. The human was debating inside himself if it was worth arguing, feeling like he wouldn't give up so easily on this one.

"well... maybe Stan left some clothes in his room" said Dipper, purely supposing that. He also took a better look at Bill's face, his own eyes couldn't let go of the black one. "And you need something for your eye" he pointed out "I don't need you to attract too much attention" he explained. For that it would be easy to find, he most likely still had his pirate costume in the closet from some summer Halloween, Mabel had really wanted to do a pirate themed that year.

He was happy to find the eye patch easily, throwing it towards Bill, knowing he would find a way to put it. He then went downstairs, making sure the path was clear before going with Bill. Finding some clothes in Stan room was a little harder since they took most of them with them on their boat adventure. But, he luckily found the old Mystery Man costume. Once on Bill, it was a little too large for him, but by the demon's expression, Dipper got that he was more satisfied by this outfit.

“You look like some kind of sketchy guy” commented Dipper amused. A too large button up shirt, pants that were too large too, but the good length, the eye patch and the tattoos. There weren't any dress shoes to go with it, so he was stuck with Dipper sneaker. He wasn't looking more “proper” but more like a sketchy guy in his opinion. Well, they could find better later. “Still better than a slug” responded Bill with a smirk.

“Whatever, let go get breakfast” he said while passing him to get out of the house, making sure he had his bag, just like the day before, and his wallet. Bill walked at his side this time and not behind him. He had to admit, it was less stressing that way.

[-_-_-]

It took them some time to finally get to lazy Susan Greasy's Diner, after all, they were on foot, but at least now they were seated and could eat. Dipper was also surprised that the demon wasn't complaining about the place, he wasn't going to mention it either, it was good like this and he wouldn't go somewhere else, he really liked lazy Susan food.

"Who's this pretty boy" asked the old lady when she came to get their order, smiling at the new face. "A friend from school" said Dipper before Bill could even try to say something stupid. Bill gave him an amused look, so now they were friends from school, he could play with that. "Dipper wouldn't stop talking about this place through the years, so I ask to come to see for myself", smiled the demon "And I'm really happy I did" he adds, making Dipper roll his eyes. Well, at least he wasn't causing problems.

They ordered after some talking with the woman, before going back to the two of them, Bill watching the human in front of him. "Where are we going shopping? I doubt there is a really good shop here, no offence to the people you like so much, I just have different standards". Well, he wasn't really meaning the no offence, but that wasn't important at the moment.

Dipper had the feeling of talking with Pacifica, or at least for the first time they knew each other. Of course, nothing would meet his standard here if his standard were gold and expensive stuff. "There are some more formal stores, though you might find more at the thrift store, that's pretty much where every 'old' clothes from the Northwest family go since they have such a big heart" said Dipper. Well, he could be sarcastic about it all he wanted, it was still a good thing, they could find something for him without costing Dipper his whole bank account.

“That sound good enough” Said Bill while nodding and smiling “Could find something better for you too” he added with smirk. “Well, sorry not to have such high standard as you in clothing” said Dipper a little annoyed, especially since it wasn't really the first time he could hear that. “I might try and look for a new bracelet though, can't have Ford know about it, Mabel was right, it wasn't the best place to have my tattoo”.

"Yeah, not really smart of you Pine Tree, I thought you were better than that" laughed the demon, "But at least you can look at me all the time~" he added in a teasing tone. Dipper scoffed a little, turning to look outside the window, missing the demon pout from his lack of responsiveness. "Anyway, where did Shooting Star got it, then?" he asks to change a little the subject.

"On the ribs, so she could hide it easily, even when going for a swim, she doesn't bother much when we're not in Gravity Falls unless Ford and Stan are visiting" he explained. He had to admit, it was a smarter choice since it was easier to hide in the Summer, he was stuck with wearing long kind of bracelet to hide it. Ford never questioned it, that was good enough, he wouldn't be the best to ask with his coat in the middle of summer.

“I still can't believe you two did that” admitted the demon, but sounding clearly pleased at the idea that both of the twins had something of him on them.

“Like I said, Mabel wasn't totally sober when we went to the tattoo shop and I was deprived of sleep, so we did it... funnily enough none of us regretted it after the whole situation finally sank in” admitted Dipper. He wasn't sure why he was telling him that, he never explained it to anyone and only Mabel knew why they did it and more he never thought Bill would ever know, so why being so honest? He didn't really have the time to think about it since Lazy Susan was back with their plates.

Luckily Bill didn't add anything about that, only going on about how good those waffles were. “That's why I came here all the time” simply said Dipper with a shrug. Normally he was with Mabel, not really liking going out alone to eat, but Bill was apparently able to be good company. He was stealing glances towards the demon, amused at how he seemed to enjoy his breakfast. He never thought Bill could act like this, he would have imagined a more annoying and violent person.

Finally... it wasn't that bad to pass some time with the demon. If he was going to be like this all the time, he wouldn't mind. Sure, he was annoying and all, but it was still nice, especially since he knew Mabel would pass lots of time with her friends. He kept in the sigh he wanted to let out, eating his waffles.

They could finally go to the thrift store, which was the closest one after Bill asks for two more plates of waffles. Dipper had to stop him, otherwise, he would get sick and he didn't want to deal with a sick demon. At least by now he was really awake, ready to help find some clothes.

When they entered the store, Bill hadn't taken a long time before spotting the formal clothes, going directly for that, Dipper following behind. The Demon was looking through the clothes poles, taking out items and throwing them at Dipper so he could keep them. "You do realise I don't have infinite money, right?" asked the human, still keeping the clothes, pretty used to it by now. "I will find a way to repay you, don't worry" said Bill, still looking through the nearly new clothes.

It took long minutes of going through the whole area of more formal clothes before the demon finally went to the fitting room. It only then Dipper realised that Bill didn't really look the sizing, now just seeing what would fit or not. He then just left the dream demon to try on the clothes, going instead in the accessory section.

He was looking for a new bracelet that could cover a large section of his wrist and forearm because he surely wasn't going to get caught first with his tattoo. Let say they had made a bet about who could hide it the longer, both knowing that Dipper was most likely going to lose. Anyway, he still had some time until Ford and Stan arrival. At worst, he could always use some bandage and pretend he injured himself somewhere.

He was trying one a nice looking leather bracelet with some forest pattern burned on it when he heard someone whispering his name right next to his ear, making him drop the accessory and squeak a little, quickly turning toward the demon. Bill was standing there with a shit eating grin, clearly satisfied with the way he scared the younger one. Dipper was going to says something when he was cut by the demon “I finished, you found something you like?” he asked instead, taking a look at the bracelet he was wearing.

Dipper took a quick glance at the pile of clothing that was very much smaller than before, seeing away a poor employe with all the other clothes needing to be put back. Well, at least it wouldn't kill his bank account. "Yeah... I think this will do good" he answered while showing the leather accessory. It seemed to have the approval of the demon since he was humming and nodding.

They went to the cash register after Bill found some nice golden looking triangle piercing and dressing shoes. Really not a surprise, but they weren't that pricy so he took them too. Once out of the store, Dipper was grabbed by the arm as Bill was pulling them towards a back alley, stopping only once there were not in view anymore, grabbing the bag to get some clothes.

"You can't change here!" said Dipper, looking back to make sure no one would come towards them. "Relax, it's not like I am giving a show or something" answer Bill amused, throwing Stan's clothes at the human. Dipper finally turned toward him, before asking "Wait, is that my underwear? When have you took those?"

“Oh, when you went to get some food yesterday, I assumed they were clean... they are clean right?” asked Bill, raising an eyebrow. “Of course” said Dipper, as if he was keeping dirty underwear to travel “It's not the problem”. He only gained a laugh from the demon, clearly not understanding why it was bothering him.

By then he was finishing dressing back up and Dipper had to admit that the demon had good taste. A dark grey button up shirt under a yellow waistcoat, a bow tie, some black dress pants and his new shoes looking new. He was finishing the look with one of his new piercing, Dipper still surprises that his ears were pierced.

Dipper didn't say anything first, still surprised by how well fitting the clothes were on him. Bill was smiling at him, clearly pleased with the effect he had. “Well, I can assume this look good?”. Dipper coughed a little as he finally stopped staring, pointing at his own hat “You are missing the top hat” he commented.

“Yeah” said the demon while looking up, as if looking at the top of his own head “Well, they didn't have any that were looking nice, maybe later” he said with a smirk.

“Now back to the shack so I can drop this bag in my room and let get some research done” suggested Dipper as he was placing the folded clothes in the shopping bag. Bill seemed more like he wanted to keep doing other things, but this wasn't really a bad idea. “I know somewhere where we could go first” suggested Bill.

Dipper looked at him, curious, but the demon didn't say anything more, taking the lead instead. "It's a secret, you will know once we get there" he told him. Dipper started walking after him, asking him a couple of times what he wanted to do, trying to guess, but it was really going nowhere. He only stopped once they got to the shack, entering through the back door where he was sure Soos wouldn't be working. Going yet again upstairs to place the shopping back in a corner of his room, grabbing some more things he could bring with them.

"Brobro you're back!" he could hear from outside the door, making both men freeze. Dipper was the faster to react, pushing Bill inside the closet, closing it and moving away quickly enough so Mabel didn't notice when she got in. "I see you're finally home, was it fun yesterday?" he asks as if nothing happened.

She smiled and went on about all the things they did and talked about, sitting on the bed as Dipper was giving a quick glance at the closet door. It took at least ten minutes before Mabel had finished, asking for what his twin had done. "Oh, nothing really exciting, went for a hike yesterday, read a lot before going to sleep, went to lazy Susan, the usual stuff" he answered. Mabel was surprised to hear he went to lazy Susan restaurant alone, something he didn't really do, but guessed he wasn't twelve years old awkward Dipper, but nearly twenty years old less awkward Dipper.

"That sound nice" she said with a bright smile "You were going out again?" she asked as she was seeing he hadn't yet dropped his bag like he usually does. "Oh yeah, I was going to go and see again if I couldn't find back... the jackalope I think I saw yesterday" he said while finding some excuses, feeling guilty from lying to Mabel. "Wanna come?" he asks, knowing it would be out of characters for him not to suggest it.

"Nah, I would really love to because they must be so cute" answered Mabel "but I think I'm too tired to keep up with you, we did talk until really late in the night" chuckles Mabel with a soft smile at the memory from the day before.

The happiness from his twin made Dipper smile softly, happy to see she had a great time with Pacifica. "It's fine if I find one I will try to take a good picture or a video so I can show you". This made her really excited, telling him great luck on his hunt before excusing herself, saying she really needed to take a nap. "Sure thing, sleep well Mabel".

He stayed there until he could hear the door from Mabel room being close, going back to the closet, seeing a semi annoyed Bill in it. "A jackalope?" he still asked with an amused smile, the idea of being forced into the closet not the worse he could have had. "I needed an excuse" whispered Dipper in case his sister wasn't already fast asleep "and since I have no clue where you want to go, I had to come up with something".

After the demon got out of his hideout, they were on their way out, making sure not to make too much sound, Bill leading the way again. It was like this even through the forest, Dipper having no idea where they were going, only that it was getting farther and farther from the shack. Not that he was really worried, he did lose his way pretty far away too, it was more that he would be all alone with the demon in the middle of nowhere.

When they finally arrived, Dipper was surprised to find a simple clearing and pond. "You wanted to come to a clearing?" asked the human, kind of lost about why he wanted the come here.

“Well Pine Tree, I would have thought you found it in Six Fingers journals” Said Bill will calmly walking towards the pond. “If you are curious, this place is a great place for any creature to regain some magic and power” he explained while sitting on a rock, looking at Dipper with a smile.

The human wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but at the same time what could he do? Dragging Bill back to the shack? He was clearly not strong enough for that and he himself was supposing the lack of power from Bill's end would be hard for them to send him back. He just sighs, going to sit on another rock.

They stayed there in silence, Bill lays on the rock and letting the sun warm him, as Dipper was taking notes about all he could find about this place, just in case he didn't have the page about this place in one of Ford journals. Plus, he had the weird impression of himself feeling better the more they were staying.

"Bill" he said to catch his attention, knowing he had it when the demon simply hummed back. "Can this place... affect humans?" he asked after some time of hesitation. "Maybe, it depends" answered the demon. "I know it was affecting Ford on some level and since you are from the same family I guess you can too be affected by magic, I wouldn't be surprised if you could work out some spell too".

"Wait, what". Dipper couldn't really believe him, could he really work on being able to use magic spell? Was Ford able to do that too? He was taken out of his questioning when he heard the demon laugh as he was sitting up. "Ford never told you he was able to manage some? He's smart and good at a lot of stuff, but he wasn't the best at magic if I had to be honest, not enough magi in him, otherwise, he was draining himself".

Bill was surprised to see the suddenly excited expression on the younger one as if he really wanted to learn too. Well, he has managed to deal with ghosts and other types of things, it wouldn't be a surprise if he could do better. It could be actually funny to try and show him some tricks. This thought only made him smile wider "I can show you after some time here so we are sure you won't pass out on me".

He didn't even need to hear the boy answers, his face was enough.

Well... maybe staying some time wasn't such a bad thing too, he was clearly not getting as bored as he had often been in the Mindscape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I know it sounds like nothing, but thanks for the kudos folks, I publish those chapter only 24h hours before and I already have 8. really thanks, guys.


	4. Chapter 4

Three days had passed since their first afternoon in the clearing, where they did return often. All the time Mabel wasn't off doing something with her friends he would do something with her, otherwise, he would go with Bill at the pond. He was also leaving the demon alone in his room, guessing he could entertain himself with the books he had and Netflix. Apparently, the dream demon had enjoyed finding out he could watch movies in the room, especially horror ones.

Bill even showed him some little tricks, mostly about focusing so he could manage to do some. He showed him how to create fire, even if it was only a little flam in the palm of his hand. Dipper was happy when he heard the demon say he was quick to get how the thing works for a beginner. Bill was such the human had more magic in him that he would have thought of at first. Maybe his funny birthmark was for something.

It was late in the after none when they were back at the shack, stopping at the edge of the forest when Dipper noticed a car parked close to the habitation. Bill directly smiled, not needing much to know the Stans were finally here.

The young man was divided between being excited and happy about them finally arriving, and being worried about getting caught helping the demon. He turned to the demon, his look clearly telling him not to fuck it up. "Don't worry Pine Tree, I can be very quiet when I want to, how would I entertain myself if Six Fingers locked you up in the shack" joked the demon with a smirk, putting his gloved hand on the lower back of Dipper to make him walk towards the house.

"I will find a way to get inside your room without your help, just go and see them" Said the demon, leaving the human on the porch before leaving. Dipper hesitates about telling him to wait, before thinking he was right, it would be weird of not greeting them and he wanted to see them after all this time.

So he went in and joined the family sitting in the kitchen, waiting for Ford to finish cooking. "You finally managed to get here" smiled Dipper, yelping a little when Stanley came to him and dragged him in a thigh hug. He responds to it with a laugh, telling him he was happy to see them too. "Ford was sad not to see you dip-dop" commented Mabel with a laugh, Ford trying to make himself look tougher, even if they all knew he had a soft spot for Dipper.

"Anyway" he cut in his fail attempt at keeping face "You are on time for dinner, hope you didn't eat before". Dipper answer negatively, other than snack he hadn't eat since morning, so he was hungry. "I'm starving even" he joked, earning him a worried look from the scientist before he finally caught on the joking tone of the boy.

Soon they were all served, the older twins talking about how things had been, recounting stories from their time on the sea. Everything was going fine until they all heard something coming from upstairs. Dipper blood froze in his vein as everyone was now silent and trying to see if it would happen again. "What was that?" asked Stanley, frowning a little. "I'm going to go take a look".

"No!" said Dipper, surprising everyone at the table, before he coughs a little, quickly trying to find an excuse. "It must be an animal" he managed to find "I left my window open to change the air and I must have forgotten to close it" he explained as he was standing up. "I'll go and close it, the thing must be out if it was still open" he said quickly as he could suddenly hear other sounds.

He then rushed to his room, taking the stairs two by two. When he finally opened his door he saw Bill standing in the middle of the room, a squirrel in his hand, trying to free himself. "What are you doing!" He said, trying not to speak too high and be heard downstairs. "I opened the window to let some fresh air in and this little guy got in" respond the demon, keeping his own voice low too. Dipper's eyes widen when he heard Ford asking if everything was okay, clearly going up the stairs

"Yes, I think it was just a squirrel, it already went out" he said, seeing front the corner of the room Bill throwing the animal out while cursing because he had bitten him. Still, he could hear the scientist coming up and Dipper couldn't have Bill be found. "hide" he mouthed, as he was closing the windows, tensing when he heard Bill footsteps. He turns to see Ford appearing at the doorstep and the sheet hiding the storage room annexe to the bedroom area being closed.

The man was looking at him concerned, not understanding what all the fuze was about. "Is everything's okay? You were not bitten or scratch" he asked, looking at his hands. "No, no I'm fine, don't worry, it already had run out the window, it just knocks some of my things on the floor" he explained. It wasn't lying though since he could himself see some of the things that must have fallen to the ground, even if he suspected Bill might have done that too.

"I will be back down soon, I will just quickly clean up" affirmed the boy with an awkward smile, already starting to do so. He simply receives a nod, before seeing the man going away. He soon after left out a relieved sigh, seeing the dream demon poking his head out to see if everything was cleared. "Well, that was close" Dipper said, still in a lower voice.

He could hear Bill snickers in his corner, clearly more amused than worried now that everything was cleared. "Yeah, that was close, I think I will just sit and read for now" said Bill as he was getting out of his hideout, helping the younger man. "And no more open window" said the younger one as he was finishing cleaning up. "Sure, whatever, not my fault if a dumb animal went in" point out the demon, which only earned him rolling eyes from the human.

Dipper was soon back at the table, feeling like the conversation just before his return had been broke. Why did he have the bad impression he was the subject of said conversation? Maybe it was better not to worry too much about it. "kid you should be more cautious" commented Stan when he sat back down. "Sorry, totally got out of my head when I went out today" lied Dipper.

It was quickly swift under the rag, as they were now back at telling stories that had happened in the last year. That way Dipper could be less tense, getting more confident about the fact that Ford hadn't figured it out, otherwise it would have been the first thing he would have heard of. No, he would have tried to take care of Bill first.

It only when it started to be late that they finally said they should go to sleep, Dipper managing to sneak up some snack. It was a good thing they thought about keeping some food in his room, otherwise, it would be hard to take with him a full plate when he ate not so long ago.

He was going to enter his room, when he felt a hand tugging at his shirt, turning toward a concerned looking Mabel. "Dipper, is everything's okay?" she asked "You were acting weird earlier, no, you are acting weird since we came here" she clarified so he wouldn't try to get away with it.

Dipper would dismiss it, but he hated the worried look his sister had. He left out a sigh, passing a hand on his neck. "It really nothing to worry about, I just... met someone when we arrived, it's nothing" he said, happy that it wasn't really a lie. It wasn't long before the worried look on Mabel face changes for a surprised one, before a happy one.

"Why didn't you told me" she asks, clearly excited. "How is she? Who is she?" she then adds.

Dipper was biting the inside of his cheek, looking a little on the side. "It's someone new in town, also here on vacation for... well for the supernatural stuff too" he said, pretty close to the truth. "It's definitely not like what you are thinking about, it more of a creature hunting buddy thing" he then explain, still not so far from the truth.

None the least, Mabel was still looking happy that her brother was finally befriending someone else, and who knew, maybe it would turn into something else. She was biting her lips, trying not to gush too much about it, knowing it would just make Dipper try to run away from the subject more. "You better introduce her to me before she has to go" she demanded while pointing at her brother "I want to know who was able to befriend my anti-social brother" she add amused.

She would most likely have continued, but a song interrupted her, Dipper knowing already who was calling her. Her expression totally changed from playful to pure joy, reaching immediately before going for her room, saying it was an important call.

Dipper was left to stand alone, a little grin on his mouth. He finally went to his room, knowing Mabel wouldn't come back, or at least not before a long time.

Once he was inside and had closed the door, groaning as he saw the mess Bill had made with his cloths near the wooden chest. Suddenly it dawned on him what was in it, looking for Bill, finding him laying on his bed, all his journals next to him as he was reading through them. He quickly placed the snack on the table, going for the books. "Why do you have to put your nose through all my stuff" he asked, clearly annoyed that he was found.

"Calm down Pine Tree" laughed quietly the demon, "I was just reading through them, didn't you said y'all destroyed them, hmm~?" added Bill in a teasing tone. Dipper bite the inside of his cheek again, looking away before a little smile creeps on his face. "I may or may not have made a copy of all the pages so I could redo them in my own journals" he admitted, seeing Bill's smile getting wider, closing the journal he was reading.

"Well, is little Pine Tree trying to rebel against his mentor" said the demon jokingly. "No!" said Dipper, shutting his mouth, listening to be sure he wasn't too loud. They were going to get caught if they weren't quieter.

Dipper sighed, sitting on his desk chair. "I just thought it was stupid to get rid of such valuable information, especially after all his years of research and all the things he went through to get them, he also most likely keep one on sea, if he need somethings from his older one I could always help" explained Dipper as if it was all for the good of Ford. Deep down he knew it was all selfish, he simply wanted the information for his own curiosity. And of course, Bill knew damn well that what he said wasn't really why he kept copies of the old journals. He could even tell Dipper made corrections to it.

"That good, at least I didn't lose my times helping him" he said, even if it was all to his benefit at the time. Dipper finally went and took back the journals, Bill letting him do so, only keeping the forth one. As Dipper was hiding them again and folded back up his clothes, he could hear Bill comment: "You must really love your symbol to also put it on your journals, could have us the big dipper or something". This made Dipper blush as he realised how much he did use the Pine Tree symbol for stuff like this. "I was just trying to copy the style from the other ones" he said. "Yeah, but the older one I believe Ford simply traced his hands, he hadn't known about me at the time" affirmed the demon, only making Dipper more embarrassed.

"Okay yes, I do use it a lot, happy to hear it" ask Dipper, still not looking at Bill. surely he did it unconsciously all the time as if it was something that couldn't get out of his head. He didn't need the demon to also mock him for always using things that were linked to him. "Hey don't take it like that, I think it nice you do, maybe not for the right reason I will give you that, but I still think it nice... If it can help you it is my favourite one~" he said with a smirk, only making Dipper blush harder.

No, it wasn't really helping, especially not with the way he was saying it. He, wasn't sure how he was suppose to interpret that. The demon thought it was enough teasing for now, opening back the journals to go through it. "Not much to find in the big cities uh?" he asked, knowing well that Gravity Falls was an exception to any other place. This seemed to help Dipper relax a little, closing back the chest as he went to sit next to Bill, looking at which pages he was scanning through.

"I mean, there is pretty cool stuff too, but not as much and it more difficult to look for them without looking crazy" explained Dipper. "Also with school, I don't always have the time" he added, even if clearly the younger one was taking away some precious sleeping time for his research.

Also, they never found anything as dangerous as what Bill did, even if Dipper would be lying if he said he wasn't wishing for some dangerous adventures, nothing deadly, just a little bit dangerous. He sighs, laying next to Bill who was sitting, back against the walls. He simply stayed like this, eyes close, Bill reading what the younger one had found in the cities or Gravity Falls.

"How long do you think it would take for you to gain enough power to get your original form?" asked Dipper after some silence between them. "I don't know" admitted the demon, looking away from the book to look at the laying figure. "It also not sure it will do the job, I never had someone forcing me to get back in the physical world when I was weaker and without a full Cipher wheel" pointed out Bill, so he couldn't tell. He wasn't even able to tell why it worked in the first place.

"Maybe we need to make a deal for it to work?" suggested Dipper after clearly hesitating on his proposition. This made the demon smiled, he knew Dipper was meaning some low level deal that wouldn't cause total chaos, but the fact that he suggested it made him smile. "Couldn't say, if it works in the same way of a normal summoning would it should work, normally I can go back whenever I want to" he said. Mostly when he was feeling like the deal wasn't worth his time or because it was more simple to deal with stuff via the Mindscape or at least when he was powerful enough to drag anyone in it.

Dipper sighed, still not knowing how they would do it. He opens his eyes surprised when he suddenly felt a hand ruffling his hair playfully as if to make him feel better. Bill had taken off the leather glove he found somewhere in the shack, it was feeling nice to feel bare skin instead of leather. Dipper offered him a smile, style surprised by the gesture, but not rejecting it either. Maybe he was growing softer for the demon, not knowing if it was good or not.

They agreed on watching some horror movies before going to sleep, both knowing very well Dipper would never go to sleep if he was starting to read now. They also had to move Bill's bed in the small room annexed to his, not wanting someone entering the room and seeing a stranger sleeping on the floor. Sure, the sheet wasn't much, but no one was ever looking there for something since it was just useless stuff stored there.

Bill was thinking about joining Dipper in his sleep, like this, he would be sure that he wouldn't have any nightmares and sleep well, but he could also keep on teaching him magic tricks. He was going to do so but heard the door opening. It was really quiet as if the person was doing their best not to be heard. The demon concentrate so he could see through one of his hidden eyes in the attic, keeping silent.

He could see Ford entering the room, looking around as if trying to find something suspicious, before going out again. They would have to be careful from now on, clearly, Ford was suspecting something, maybe they could make up a lie.

He finally stopped watching, feeling tired just from that, which was frustrating. He shouldn't be feeling tired just from this. He left out a quiet sigh, before finally going to sleep, choosing to go and bother Dipper in his sleep so he could change his mind. It was more fun to do than worry about Ford or getting angry at his power.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this might be the fanfiction for which my brain had ideas the fastest. Guess it isn't so bad, this won't take me months to finish then.


	5. Chapter 5

Days went by and Dipper had to juggle with all those situations while walking on eggs shell. He had to lie and keep up with said lies, make sure Bill was staying hidden, even if it was starting to get on the demon's nerves. He had to tell about that new person Dipper had met, only twisting a little the truth so he wouldn't feel too guilty to hide it from Mabel. He also had to make sure he wasn't slipping up in front of Ford, as he was the most suspicious one.

But he was still able to have good times, either it being with is family or Bill. He did have great times with Bill, contrary to what he would have thought at the beginning. They were going in town to do stuff they couldn't do at home or in the forest, Bill was showing him stuff he never discovered before or couldn't really know about and was still teaching him some magic. He, after a couple of days, was already able to control his fire, now working in levitating himself and stuff around, which was harder, but sounded just more nice to do too.

Also, Bill powers were slowly going back to him the more time they were passing in places that were radiating magic a lot. Even if at first Dipper thought it would be something bad, Bill wasn't showing sign of wanting to start Weirdmageddon 2.0. Well, it was better like this, he wasn't wishing to live through that again, especially not after all the good time he had with the demon. Sure, he was still a demon and his way of reacting to certain things was showing it well, or even his interest in gory or violent stuff, but overall he was being fine.

On Bill side, he had to deal with something totally new to him: feelings. In his normal form made of pure energy, he didn't have do deal with such things, so now he was just lost. Why was he feeling happy and warm all the time around Dipper? Not that it was an unpleasant feeling, just that he didn't understand why it was happening. Or that feeling of annoyance he had whenever Pine Tree would give all his attention to someone else than him, for the exception of the other Pines, those were okay in his book. At least he didn't have that feeling much since they were often only the two of them.

It was still weird to feel all those new things he couldn't put words to. He wouldn't ask Dipper either, the human seems to already find him funny enough because he didn't know how many humans things were working. But he could feel it was never in a mocking way, it was genuine and it was always making him smile a little despite some of the situations being really frustrating. So yeah, he wouldn't ask about emotion, even if it seemed to be the basic human thing to get, even if humans themselves didn't get it most of the time.

They were now at Greasy's Diner for lunch since they were not sure if the Stans and Mabel would be at the shack. Also, Bill absolutely wanted to get back here, not that Dipper was against that idea. It would be a good break from being chased by some creature who didn't like that they entered their house. They were still laughing from being nearly eaten by it.

Dipper laughter suddenly died when he saw who was getting inside the restaurant, ducking down so he wouldn't be seen, getting a weird look from Bill. "Pine Tree what are you doing?" he asks before being shushed by Dipper. "Mabel, Stan and Ford just entered the Diner" he whispered only to see he demon turning around to look, totally not discreet. Right now the young man wanted to facepalm himself, but only tensed when he heard his name being called by his sister.

"Hey Mabel" he said awkwardly, seeing his family approaching them, everyone taking a look at Bill, curious. Mabel was the first one to react, way too happy. "Oh my god, Dipper, don't tell my this is the person you were talking about?!" she asked, clearly not troubled by the fact that the mysterious person wasn't a woman like she thought. "How could you find someone so handsome and not tell me more about it!" she exclaimed, not really getting attention on them. At this point, Dipper believed everyone in Gravity Falls was used to his sister being hip all the time.

"A new friend uh" said Stan with a smile "Didn't know the kid could actually make some friends" he joked, gently slapping Dipper's back. Only Ford didn't seem that convince of it all. "And we have the pleasure to meet?" simply asked Ford. "The name Guillaume Goldman" responds Bill with a wide smile, surprising Dipper with the name he picked. Where was that coming from? It wasn't even sounding like English. Ford finally took the hand the demon was giving him, letting go of his suspicion for now.

Dipper couldn't even try and explain how he "really" met the demon since Mabel was dragging him so he was sitting in the middle. They didn't have much place on the banquet, but he guessed trying to fit one of the older twins wouldn't have been better. So Bill was sitting against the window and Mabel nearly off the seat. Dipper was really squeezed, but he wouldn't complain since he had no chance to fall off like that.

Lazy Susan went to take their orders, which was pretty much the same things, as usual, already having Dipper and Bill drinks. The table was silent for some time after that. Mabel was clearly restraining herself from asking hundreds of question to 'Guillaume'. Stan was surely curious about the new face, but didn't care much as long as he was being good to Dipper. Ford was looking between Dipper and 'Guillaume', clearly not getting how the two of them met when they both look so different in personality and style, at least from the first glances. He also had a weird feeling about that new person. Dipper was tense, even if he was trying to hide it the best he could, very much not wishing for everything to be discovered. Bill him was totally chill, finding it all really entertaining, even if he knew he couldn't push it too far or he would have problems after.

"Sooooo, how did you two met?" finally asked Mabel, clearly seeing that the silence was making his twin anxious. "Oh, I came to Gravity Falls when I've seen on forums that it was supposed to be a good place for supernatural stuff" started Bill, knowing vaguely what Dipper had told Mabel. Good things said information were always vague and poorly detailed. "I was walking around the forest and got lost, Dipper found me on his first hike of the summer, I was really lucky or I would probably still be stuck in the forest" laughed the demon.

Dipper found that the demon was really good at making up stories. Well, he guessed it was easy for demons to do so, good thing he was giving a short resume of what he was telling Mabel, they would be in a bad place if the stories didn't add up.

"You came here all alone?" asked Ford, leaning on his joined hand. "Yeah, I prefer travelling alone, doesn't have many friends back home, too weird for them I guess" answered Bill with a shrug, going with what he heard Dipper rant about one time. "But going after supernatural being can be dangerous alone" pointed out Ford. Dipper and Bill exchanged a look, as if the man was one to talk. "Dipper do it all the time from what I've heard".

This caused Dipper to receive a frown, Ford clearly not okay with that. Well, it's not as if they already went through a near death experience at twelve, oh wait, yes they did. So all Dipper was doing now was way less dangerous and he was way more prepared for things. "Come on Poindexter, don't look at him like that, he's old enough to defend himself" said Stan with a smile, knowing he had shown the kids some good way to defend themselves. They were always running around dangerous things since they first came to Gravity Falls, he shouldn't expect from them to change because he said so.

"From what I've seen Pi- Dipper is pretty good at keeping himself alive" said the demon, getting a look from the human when he nearly used his usual nickname. Well, it wasn't easy to go straight up for the name when he was using nicknames for most people he was talking to. Still, Dipper shouldered him a little, a small laugh escaping his lips "You're not bad yourself to keep us alive" he said, remembering earlier, making Bill laugh again. Laughing was really making Dipper relax, but with that, they missed how the other Pines seemed uneasy at the new guy laugh. As if they had heard it somewhere before.

They were getting calm when their plates arrived, things way less tense than before, Mabel talking with 'Guillaume', wanting to hear more about where he was from and if he had found mysterious stuff in other places. Ford was keeping more to himself, simply studying the blond. Stan was asking questions here and there too when he was falling too much being on the whole supernatural stuff. To him, if the guy was able to make his nephew happy and keeping him out of potential dead, why would he take that away from him? Dipper had already enough trouble making friends, unlike Mabel, it would be a good change for him.

When they finally finished they paid, Mabel grinning from seeing Dipper paid for himself and the blond, as if she was reading too much into it. She had interlink her elbow with Dipper and 'Guillaume', dragging them in direction of the shack.

“You look even better now that I can see you up” commented Mabel “Dipper's good at catching handsome people” she said with a wink. “Mabel!” complained her brother, not thinking he was really good at really attracting anyone since every crush he ever had were never ending up mutual. “Yeah, you got good taste kid” commented Stanley with a smile. “Oh, do I~” smiled the demon while throwing a glance at Dipper, seeing him scoff, remembering when Bill was bragging about his superior standard in clothing.

The walk home was mostly Mabel asking questions about what he did with his brother, not really being subtly about the fact she was sure something more was going on. And of course, Bill had to enter her little game and respond in ways that could be confusing as to what he was meaning. Dipper didn't seem to even have a say in all this, only watching them talk like this, feeling like Mabel was going to, yet again, play the matchmaker.

But somehow... he wasn't hating that idea as much as he did every other time in the past, which was only making him feel confused. Why was he suddenly okay with it? It not as if he like Bill that much. No, at best they were friend now, even if it sounded weird to say he was now friends with the demon who tried to kill him some years ago. No, it sounded actually pretty bad, but he knew it was what that had happened and he wasn't really against it. But it was nothing more.

Once they were home Ford disappeared in the basement while Stan was leaving them to go see how Soos was doing with the whole touring thing. A side of Dipper wanted to get back to the pond to relax and let go of all the tension his body had to endure through that lunch and practice some magic, while another one really wanted to stay and play whichever game Mabel was suggesting. It was actually really appealing to be able to pass time with both Bill and Mabel at the same time.

And that pretty much what they did for the next hours up until dinner was ready to be cooked. Playing some games and forgetting about all the supernatural stuff, all the hiding and all the stress. Well, they couldn't afford to disconnect too much, otherwise, Mabel would be suspicious too, and not about romantic stuff this time. But they both managed not to use the wrong name, so it was good.

Yeah, everything was good up until dinner, when they all reunited around the table, Mabel nearly obligating the demon to stay. It's not like he was against it, it was better than the sandwich he had to eat upstairs most of the time, no offence to Dipper sandwich. No, the problem was more Six Fingers, who was clearly doubting something was wrong, but that he just couldn't put the finger on what it was.

"What about the eye patch?" Suddenly ask Ford as Dipper and Mabel were cooking, surprising everyone in the room, even Bill. "Oh that?" he said while pointing at it "I got injured on one of my adventure in the wild and prefer hiding it, and eye patch gain less pity than a lacking eye" he explained, telling that with a laugh as if it was nothing.

Everyone was silent, Dipper restraining from facepalming and telling him 'you don't laugh when telling that kind of story'. But he kept his mouth shut, as even Ford was taken aback by it. He cough to regain composure, saying he was sorry for his loss.

"Dinner's ready" Said Mabel to kill the discomfort that had made it place in the kitchen. "Good" said Stan, happy to have something else to think about. "Hope Dipper didn't ruin it with his touch" he joked, earning a complaint from the other twin saying he wasn't that bad.

Both Dipper and Bill ate quickly, clearly on the same idea: going away from Ford question as soon as possible. They then excused themselves, saying they were going to plan some hike they wanted to do the day after. As they were going up the stairs, Dipper could hear Stan asking "What the hell was that earlier", guessing Stanley wasn't really good with "harassing the new kid in town".

"Geez, that was one fun dinner" said Bill once in the room, going to sit on the chair. "Ford clearly suspect something" point out Dipper, even if it was obvious, that or Ford was suspicious of everything, which wasn't that far from the truth. "But I doubt he really figured out" he admitted "Or clearly he would have flipped out" added the human, which made the demon laugh just about thinking about it. Because they both knew it was what would happen if Ford knew.

"Ford isn't the only one who have suspicions about things" said Bill amused, losing Dipper for some seconds before remembering what was Mabel hinting at. "Pff, as if she could be successful in her supposition" commented Dipper, not to sound bad towards his sister, but with him, she never hit it right in the whole matchmaking game.

“So you don't think I look good?” Asked the demon, going for a dramatically seductive pose, making Dipper blush when he was thinking about it, turning his glances away. “It not what I meant” he answered, before hearing the demon argue “So you do think I look good”, making him blush harder, surprising even the blond.

Well, Bill didn't know that, but it was making him strangely really happy about it, so he wasn't going to complain. "You look good too, if you were to ask me" he commented, this time having little Pine Tree look back at him, eye wide open and even more red than before. Wow, that was fun to do.

He stood up, walking toward Dipper as the young man was stepping backwards. "What you don't trust me? But I am telling you the truth, you are beautiful, people never told you so?" he said with a grin, loving how shy the human seemed to get from his compliment. Dipper trying to argue against that, but it wasn't enough to make Bill stop or change his opinion, he wasn't lying about that.

He kept on telling stuff he found good about him, not all about his body, a lot about the way he was. At some point, they were really close, as Dipper couldn't go through the wall, though he really wishes he could right now. Bill was blocking his way, leaning a little closer to him. He was going to keep on teasing him when he felt shaky hands pushing against his torso, making him look down at a really non-amused and unhappy Dipper, looking nearly distress.

"Stop it, you're just going to make me feel even more confused about everything" said Dipper, pushing a little harder against him. To the human surprise, Bill did back off, letting him go away to hide on his bed under his blanket.

The dream demon was really confused. Had he done something wrong? He was just teasing him a little, but nothing of what he said were lies. He was suddenly feeling bad, hating that emotions, he preferred when he was able to see happy and smiling Dipper. Hell, even annoyed Dipper was better to see for him that how Dipper was right now.

He went to sit next to the bed, calmly saying Dipper's name, even if it didn't get him a reaction other than "go away, I'm not your toy", which wasn't helping Bill to feel better. The demon thought about what he should do, really lost at what he was supposed to do in that kind of situation. Was he supposed to say sorry? But he was trying to be nice, even if it was hidden under lots of teasing, but it was just how he was.

"I'm sorry" he finally said after some thinking. He crossed his arm on the bed, laying his head on it, watching the back of Dipper's head. "I hadn't meant to make you feel bad, I was just trying to tell you what I was thinking of you" he simply said, sounding surprisingly really sincere. "I won't lie, I don't get why you are upset" he admitted, to which Dipper rolled his eyes a little, but he wasn't surprised about that. "But I was really not trying to make you feel bad, I just thought you were cute when I complimented you"

Wow, the demon never thought he would ever use the word cute in his infinite life, at least not in the way it was supposed to be used. But it seemed to go well for Dipper with his apologies, as the human was turning around, looking at him. Dipper slowly took off the eyes patch, before asking him to say all this again, as if to be sure he wasn't toying with him.

"Sorry I made you feel bad, but I really thought you were cute earlier" said the demon again with a grin. Dipper couldn't find anything in his eyes or his face telling he was even trying to lie. It made him smile, before saying "I guess you aren't that bad either".

Dipper was surprised when the iris from his black eye seems to glow a golden light, not really understanding why it was happening. Well, Bill didn't notice it, but he could still say he was happy to hear Dipper said he was thinking he was good looking and not as if forced to do so.

After some time of talking placed like that, they went for movies. Of course, at some point, they had to act as if Guillaume was going back home, though they doubted Mabel and Stan would have been against the "new boy" staying over. But they felt like Ford might leave them alone for the night if he knew the new comer away.

Bill simply had to sneak back in with the help of Dipper, going straight for the window in his room, making sure Bill wouldn't be seen from the inside. They went back to watching movies, even if Dipper felt asleep through the last one, Bill decided not to move so he wouldn't wake him up since he seemed to have a good sleep by himself for once.

Unconsciously Dipper seems to go and grab Bill in his sleep, surprising the demon who was still watching the movie with earphone. At first, he thought he was awake or that he started a nightmare, but seeing the peaceful expression on his face, he understood it wasn't the case. It was actually pretty nice to have Dipper kind of hugging him, so he didn't push him back at his place, keeping on watching the horror movie.

The demon was probably getting too close to the human, but for now, he didn't care. This body and what was coming with it didn't care, he actually really liked the way he was feeling around Dipper. But of course, it couldn't be love, Dipper was just his favourite human being, yeah that was it, he was his favourite human... nothing more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought Bill would be a smart ass in giving a name and I don't wanted to give William since it was way too easy to figure out (no shade on those who do tho, it just my personal taste). So my thought process was:
> 
> Bill is a nickname for > William which in french would be > Guillaume  
> As for Goldman, I was looking for something that would fit him well and remember the family name from the singer Jean Jacque Goldman.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did some art for Bill's look and one scene from the fanfic. I should probably add more later on my Tumblr and most likely my insta too. you can take a look if you want.  
> [truly-morgan](https://truly-morgan.tumblr.com/) \- Tumblr  
> @truly_morgan - instagram

Stanley and Mabel were sitting on chairs in the basement with absolutely no idea as to why Ford had asked them to come down here. It wasn't asking to speak to them that was weird, he was doing that sometime when he needed to announce something, but the more puzzling was why in the basement and why wasn't Dipper here too?

Mabel had given a questioning look at Stan, but even her Grunkle didn't seem to understand why his brother was asking for them to come here. It was as if he was scared to be heard upstairs.

“Poindexter, why did you asked to meet us here?” Finally asked the old man as he was seeing his twin coming back with notes. Was he starting to work on something dangerous again? But then why not including Dipper, especially since the young man was the most capable out of the three.

Ford finally start putting his notes on the desk in front of them, replacing his glasses before finally stating "About this new friend's of Dipper". Stanley responded with an exasperated sigh as he was passing a hand on his face, mumbling lowly "Oh my fucking god, really". Mabel was just looking at Ford as if he had grown another head, that's why they were called down there? Because he wanted to talk about Guillaume?

"Grunkle Ford!" exclaimed Mabel as she was leaning forward "Dipper finally made a friend and you want to take that away from him?!?" she asked. Ford didn't seem to be bothered by this information, instead, he went for his suspicions.

"I am sure at 80%, wait no, 90% there is something wrong with that person and that they're not human" said the man. He felt like he needed to add more, since Mabel and Stan were looking at him both as if he had forgot some creature were really friendly. "And not the friendly kind of being, that it must be some kind of creature trying to use Dipper for something".

He went on about how weird he had found the young man action in the past days as he was passing time with the younger twins. Sure, he was sometimes acting a little off, but maybe he was just not used with Americans things because his name wasn't really sounding the most American. Then he went on about his appearance, But Mabel pointed out that she too had a phase where she was having weird style too. Some people were just eccentric.

"But golden hair and eyes!" asked the man, The woman just shrugging and responding that it was some new kind of dye and contact lenses. Ford sighed when he saw Mabel was just very much not following his thought, a little reassured to see his brother considering it a little more.

He even mentioned how no forum, in all the way he searches for it, ever mentioned Gravity Falls as a great place to see supernatural stuff. Mabel said that maybe he searched it in another language than English or that the forums were taken down.

"And I research his name, no let me finish" he said before Stan said he was maybe going too far "I found nothing for his name but a man leaving in the French revolution". He then went on telling them what he found on him, even though it was close to nothing since it was so long ago and the man hadn't left much information on him.

"Okay, it might be weird he have the same name as a nobleman from late 1700, but it doesn't say much, otherwise you would have found other Guillaume Goldman through history if he was some kind of immortal creature" pointed out Mabel. "She not wrong" agreed Stan, all this sounding more like his brother was yet again falling into paranoia, though he couldn't really say it was fully in his control with what he had lived through. But he was ready to give him the benefit of the doubt, he was the specialist in this kind of stuff.

"Look" said Stanley as he was standing up "If me or Mabel see anything weird about the guy we are going to notify you, but please don't ruin the kid friendship if you are not sure" he simply asks. Mabel was standing up too, replacing some hair in their place "Yeah, Dipper isn't someone who makes a lot of friends and after all we went through he doesn't open easily to others, I'm really happy to see him being able to open that much to someone else than me" she said with a small smile, thinking about the look in Dipper's eye when he was with Guillaume.

Ford looked at them, not understanding why they couldn't saw what was wrong, but groan as he was waving them off. It was better than nothing if they were going to keep an eye open, but he would have preferred to at least have someone on his side. "Sure, do that, keep a close eye on him" he said as the two other Pines were starting to exit the basement.

He was still sure there was something wrong with him, things were feeling too familiar with the man, he just couldn't put his finger on what it was.

[-_-_-]

On Dipper and Bill side, they both had prepared in the past days this excursion in a cave Dipper never found before. They never really went in because it was too dangerous, but now that Bill had gained a bigger amount of his power, or at least enough to use magic casually, they were able to go.

Dipper was a little nervous, like he always was when going for new things, but his excitement was just as big. He had always loved to find new things in Gravity Falls and new things were a little difficult to find after multiple summers, no help and a time limit to how he could explore. So going with someone who knew more about the place was really helpful and he wasn't alone.

After Dipper made sure he had everything he needed, Bill not bothering much thinking they could go with nothing more than magic, they went in the dark cave. Bill was explaining he remembered a couple of years ago there was a creature living exclusively inside the cave, but that they were pretty small so they shouldn't worry too much about it.

After a couple of minutes walking in the dark, they found a larger room lightened by some kind of crystal on the walls. There was even a large pool of water, looking pretty deep. There were also holes leading to others corridors, some with a little river following in. Dipper was immediately in awe at the glowing light, taking picture and notes about it, Bill looking a little around to find other things.

"You think I can bring back some of them?" asked Dipper while turning back at Bill who was looking into the water. "Sure, no one will care if you took a bunch of glowing rocks" responded the demon with a laugh "Can't say if they are going to keep glowing in your room".

Dipper looked back at them, they were really beautiful, the colours somehow changing lightly from blue to green to yellow. It was slow so one needed to keep watching and the colours were still pretty close to each other, so you also needed to be more attentive. He decided to take some with him, it was a little hard to do, but he was able to take some off the wall. They were small, but it would do the job, also he couldn't bring with them some of the bigger ones since it couldn't fit in his bag.

"Let see where the water goes" suggested the demon with a smile, waiting for Dipper near one of the holes. Deeper they were going and more they would find these glowing crystal, so they wouldn't need the light as much as before.

They were surprised to find some vegetation that had grown in, not exactly sure how it managed to do so, but that was just more fascinating. That when the sound of growling behind them made them both freeze. Dipper turned from his study on the small plant, seeing a large beast at the entry of one of the corridor, clearly not happy to have its home visited.

Dipper slowly got up, joining Bill just as slowly. "Didn't you said a couple years again it was tiny?" he asked in a low voice. "Well... maybe it was more than just a couple of years" admitted the demon with a sorry smile "You know, I'm not that great with your dimension timing" he added while placing a protective arm in front of Dipper, slowly guiding him to where they were coming from.

They had to go faster when suddenly the creature started to got after them, starting to sprint once they were in the right corridor. Bill was leading the way, making sure Dipper was following him. He was also doing his best to slow the monster, but it was hard to focus on all those things at the same time. Fire seemed to be doing the job fine at first, but the creature was smart enough to understand that water could put it out.

They needed to slow down once they arrived at a steep slope they went up earlier, knowing it was way too high to just jump off. Dipper didn't seem to notice since he was looking back, starting falling down the thing. It was a good thing he remembered how to levitate, which saved him from hitting his head, though he knew he injured his arm, but they didn't have time for that at the moment. Bill had joined him quickly as he was floating and jumping off rocks.

It was all running, jumping over obstacles and tripping over rocks, getting more injuries but not giving much care to it, otherwise, it was being eaten by a monster five time bigger than them. At some point they had to stop, still hearing the creature behind, since they were not sure from where they were coming from. This time it was Dipper who took the demon hand, guessing the last corridor, letting his instinct leading him. He could hear behind him Bill panting as he was still slowing doing the creature, knowing the demon still couldn't do magic.

It only once they were back in a completely black tunnel they knew they were close, tripping more than once and causing themselves even more scratches. They were more than delighted to see light again, falling on the grassy floor once far enough of the entry. Bill was ready to fight again, even if he was starting to be tired, but never saw the creature getting out, staying in the shadow. "Ah" he laughed out "Scared of the light" he laughed more, before turning to Dipper and suddenly stopping his laughter.

There was a large cut on his right arm, other smaller cut and scratches at other places of his body. He was most likely going to see ecchymosis appear the days after. He quickly went to kneel next to Dipper, his hand hovering above him as if scared to hurt him. Dipper seems to notice the sudden panic in Bill's movement, as he went and grabbed his hand, offering him a little smile.

“It fine, I just need to put on some bandages, go back to the shack and clean this all up to redo some clean bandages” he said, trying not to be too nervous about the cut on his arm, seeing that the demon had difficulty to deal with this. Bill nodded, grabbing the younger bag and looking into it for something that could help.

Bill's eye was shifting between red, blue and gold as if too many things were going inside him. He was relieved Dipper was alive and not eaten by the monster, but was still scare because of the injuries and was angry about seeing that injured when he should have been able to help more.

"We should pass at the pond, I could help you heal the cut so it stops bleeding" said the demon while helping the best he could. Dipper was going to argue about letting him check if the demon was okay, but Bill's expression was telling him the demon wasn't seeing himself as a priority. He left out a sigh, agreeing to it. If it could help Bill feel better.

So they did that, passing by the pond so Bill could us some healing spell, pretty happy to see he was remembering them correctly. Clearly, this wasn't something he needed often in normal time. Though he couldn't go farther than stopping the bleeding from the larger one, otherwise he would, again, lose most of his power.

The trickier part was to get inside the shack without being noticed. Well, it hadn't worked that well, since Mabel was right at the door. Her expression dropped when she saw them, making them go to the bathroom so she could help take care of the wounds. "Mabel calm down, the worst is passed, but we need clean clothes, can you get us that?" he asked, seeing her debating inside herself, before going.

He didn't lose time, going for Bill's clothes and surprising him. The demon sighed as he took off his waistcoat and his shirt himself as the shaky hand from Dipper couldn't work the button, showing him the really minor injuries he had. "I think my body heal quicker than yours, also I didn't fell off a slope of rock, so I will survive by just cleaning them" he explained, offering Dipper a little smile as he saw the young man relax. Was he worried about him this whole time? It warmed the demon's heart but didn't have much time to feel good about it as he needed to put his shirt back on because Mabel was back.

She couldn't understand how the cut was partly healed, but didn't ask. Her whole concentration was on disinfecting the injuries and doing bandages. Mabel was putting on some more band-aid after Dipper and "Guillaume" had changed in clean clothes, not asking why he had some of "Guillaume's" clothes in his room. The two men froze when they heard Ford and Stan ask what had happened, exchanging a glance, knowing very well they couldn't lie, especially with Mabel knowing in which stat her twin had come back into.

So they were all seated at the kitchen table, telling what had happened. Well, not everything, otherwise they would know there was something wrong with "Guillaume" knowledge of Gravity Falls. They also made the chasing sound a little less bad than it was, also to keep from saying they had to use some magic. And obviously, they never told about the pond.

Once they were finished everything was silent, but Dipper could tell Mabel and Stan were still really worried about them, suggesting to see a doctor and make sure they didn't break a bone or something. Ford was looking angry, before saying "What did I say about supernatural adventure? You should stop before it kills you".

"You are one to talk" respond Dipper as he was standing up, sounding suddenly angry. "I like doing this as much as you do, you get to hunt monster on the sea where you have greater chance to die and I should stop what I like when I'm safe?" he asked, visibly getting mad. "It the first time I get this injured in all the time I've been going after supernatural event, so I don't do that bad" he said, showing his injured arm.

He then could see Ford squint to look at his arm, Dipper not understanding what he was looking at. "What is that, on your wrist". Then it was the turn for both the twin to tense, realising Dipper had to take off his bloodied bracelet to wash it and he forgot to put it back on. "Just a tattoo" answer the young man while hiding it closer to his side.

Hiding wasn't an option given by Ford and he showed it when he went by himself to Dipper, grabbing his hand to look at it. He froze when what he saw confirmed what he thought he had seen, even if he wished it wasn't that. "Bill Cipher circle" he whispered, making even Stanley surprised that Dipper had such a tattoo on him. "Why did you do this Dipper!?" asked Ford, not letting go of the hand even if Dipper was trying to take it back.

They both suddenly felt a burning, Ford letting go out of surprise, Dipper throwing a surprise glance at Bill who was trying to act like he wasn't understanding what was happening. Ford was looking from his hand, back to Dipper and then back to the tattoo, not believing it. Okay, this might not have help and made things worst. Ford then turned toward Mabel, asking if she knew. But before Mabel could tell the truth, so Dipper didn't have to take the fall alone, her twin responds "She didn't know, I did this alone".

The silence in the room was heavy, all the three others looking from Dipper to Ford, not knowing what was going to happen. Ford finally straighten a little, “You won't be going on any kind of hunt or research from now on”. This shocked even Mabel and Stan, not expecting Ford to literally put a ban on the one things that he was passionate about.

"What?! No!" respond Dipper, taking a couple steps backwards, toward the exit of the room. Ford tried to argue, but the younger one didn't leave him the room for it "No! I'm not twelve anymore, I'm an adult and I can take care of myself, I told you, it the literal first time I got that badly injured since Bill tried to kill us, I think I can take some scratch if I survived nearly getting kill".

I wasn't going to hear more, especially if it was to stop him, he had heard enough. He dashed out of the room, grabbing his bag that was left by the door. The room was in total silence, broken only By "Guillaume" standing up and calmly going after Dipper. He did flash a grin toward Ford before going out because, he wouldn't lie, it was a delight to see Dipper rebel against the man he had put above many.

He found the young man on the way to Gravity Falls, sitting on a fallen trunk and trying to calm himself. Bill was feeling less amused when he saw Dipper crying, most likely out of anger. He simply sat next to him, hesitating before passing an arm around him and putting his head on his shoulder. "What do we do now?" he asks, knowing that talking about what happened wouldn't help.

"I don't know" admitted Dipper with a quiet laugh, drying some last tear. Bill simply hummed, thinking. "We could take a room for the night, the motel here must be cheap right?" he asked, not believing a motel here could cost much money unless it was owned by the Northwest family.

Dipper was still silent, before nodding. "Yeah, it should do, I don't want to go back". That and he didn't want to bother anyone he knew in Gravity Falls with two dumb guys needing a room for the night. He felt Bill let go of him, even if he would have preferred staying like this, before seeing him in front of him, sticking his hand out so he could take it. "You're good to walk a little?" he asks with a smile small, knowing this time where he would be taken by the demon. He smiled back, taking the hand before starting to walk towards the town, not letting go of the warm hand that for once was not stuck in a glove.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My stoned heart still can't believe someone made a fanart from this fanfiction and I couldn't not show you this really nice fanart. So here it is!  
> [pinetree-pyramid](https://pinetree-pyramid.tumblr.com/post/190087057469/i-dont-even-know-why-i-came-here-myself)

When they finally arrived at the motel, Dipper went in alone, not really needing to bring to much attention on the weird pair and not needing Bill to make things worse. The young man greeted politely the lady behind the desk, smiling when he found out it was the one he helped with her gnome infestation maybe a summer or two back.

She seemed happy to see him, asking how come he needed a room, curious. He made up a story about some problem at the shack, even if it wasn't that far from the truth, saying it was nothing really bad or to worry about. He was feeling a little guilty to be lying to the old lady, but he didn't want to explain everything to someone who wouldn't understand half the story anyway.

She was apparently really grateful for his help because she suggested to repay him back by lending him a room for cheaper and that it would be even a little cheaper if he could help with a gnome who still wouldn't leave her alone. Of course, Dipper accepted, paying and taking the room key with him, happy to have at least somewhere to sleep for the couple days to come at a lower price.

He would have had asked for a two beds room but thought it would add more question and he wasn't feeling like going over it all over again. Also, he wouldn't lie, he did enjoy sleeping in the same bed as Bill the couples of times it happened in the pasts weeks.

"So?" asked the demon with a smile, looking at the key in Dipper's hand. "Got one for cheap since I helped the owner with gnomes in one of the two last summers" he explained with a smile, before sighing a little. "Got it for even lower if I helped with one who wouldn't leave her alone" added the younger one, Bill chuckled, not really surprised that Dipper accepted to help. He would for sure have done it even without the lower price.

Dipper then placed the key in his bag, following the lady instruction for where the little creature normally was hiding around the motel. He wasn't really surprised when they found Jeff, the small creature recognising him immediately. "YOU!" he exclaimed, pointing accusingly towards Dipper "I won't let you take away one of my queens again". The only real reaction he had was the demon laughing at his face, needing to keep balance by grabbing Dipper's shoulder.

Dipper wouldn't say the old lady was ugly, no, she was pretty for her age, but he was still surprised Jeff choose her for their queen. She didn't really have many decades before her if the Pines was being polite. "Can you just leave her alone?" asked an exasperated Dipper, even if he knew the answer. "I just want to go to sleep and right now is not the right time to try and get on my nerve either" commented Dipper, starting to walk towards the gnome. He was going to drag him away if it what he needed to do.

"Then I will just come back with all the other gnomes to stop you for good!" respond the gnome, making Dipper scoff, not really wanting to have to deal with such a pain in the ass again. Once was enough.

Then they both suddenly felt a chill going up their spine, feeling some bad energy coming from not so far away. Dipper then turned to Bill, seeing him walk closer to Jeff. "I give you two choices" he said, his eye glowing strongly in the dark, not yet turned red. "One, you just walk away and learn how to befriend someone before making her your queen" he said as he was raising one finger, "Or two, I will personally make sure you won't be a problem to anyone in the future, definitively".

Even the young Pines shuddered at the way Bill finished it, his crazed smile not helping him feel less scared. Where was all this anger coming from? The demon seemed pretty amused not even two minutes ago, why was he so mad all of a sudden?

Jeff didn't want to see if that demon the boy seemed to have befriended would act on his word, starting to run for his life. He would find another way to get to his queen without bringing back the Pines boy and his new guard dog.

Dipper didn't speak, only looking at Bill's back, not sure if he was still mad as he was looking into the forest. He jumped a little when the demon suddenly turned to him, one of his usual grin plastered on his face. "So, now we can go to sleep?" he asked. Taken aback, Dipper took a couple of seconds before finally answering "Y-yeah... he shouldn't be bothering her for some time".

They then walked back to the motel, still in silence. Dipper couldn't find why he got mad, remembering the event, up until he remembers what Jeff was saying before. Was Bill getting angry because the gnome was threatening to harm him? He glanced toward the demon from the corner of his eyes, not sure why he was that surprised. Maybe because the demon never really showed he wanted to protect him, or well other than this morning maybe, but Bill was in danger just as much as he was, so maybe it wasn't that.

"Bill" he finally started, hesitating a little, before passing a hand on his neck, going for something else, too shy to ask if his hypothesis was right. "Thanks for helping me, Jeff can be a real pain when he finds himself a new queen to claim" he finally said. Yeah, this would be safer.

Bill hummed, before laughing a little. "It really was nothing Pine Tree, he literally had no chance against me and I wanted to go back to the room and relax". Dipper simply nodded, not seeing why he would get so mad if he just wanted to get back to the motel. Well, he guesses it was still Bill he was thinking about, could be that for all he knew.

When they finally got to the room, Dipper pushed Bill towards the bathroom, telling him he needed to shower or at least clean his injuries. "I won't let you out unless you take care of your injuries, I don't care if you are stronger or whatever, do it". The demon went in, half because he wanted to listen to him for once, but also because he thought it would be a good idea not to dirty all his clothes from the blood and dirt still stuck on him. He then took a shower, taking care of cleaning the cuts, before going back to Dipper, only wearing his pants this time, dropping the dress shirt on the chair near the small table.

"Happy now?" He asked, still drying his hair, but not missing the blush blooming on Dipper's face when he saw him without a shirt on. Wouldn't be the first time, since he was naked when they met back, but it never happened since. "Like what you see~" he asked, winking at the young man, knowing that for once he could see it because he wasn't wearing the eye patch.

The younger Pines simply looked away, blushing more when he saw he was seen, opting for going to bed and not responding. He knew very well Bill would always find a way to tease him. Also, not to help, while Bill was showering he had the time to remember what happened and he was yet again a little mad at Ford. He knew he was doing it with his best interest in mind and to keep him safe, but Dipper just couldn't accept to give up what had passionate him for the past seven years of his life. But with his anger came a sort of sadness, coming from the fact that Ford wouldn't try to hear him out on any of it, especially after finding out about his tattoo.

Bill understood quickly it wasn't really time for joking, pouting a little at the situation, before joining the younger man in the bed, laying on his side and looking at Dipper. “I can sens you're angry” he said, trying to get to the subject slowly “Want to talk about it?”. “No” answered Dipper, which was at least clear on what he wanted to do. Bill then simply nod, trying to find a way to cheer him up a little, even though at night he couldn't do much and they had enough adventure for the day.

Maybe he could bring him the day after to do some things the younger one liked? But that wouldn't necessarily be connected to supernatural research. He was trying to find something when he heard the boy call him again, gaining his full attention, looking at the young Pines facing him now.

"Why did you... got mad earlier?" asked Dipper, clearly unsure as to if he should or could ask. Bill didn't answer at first, which made the young man think he shouldn't have asked in the first place. He was going to apologized before the demon beat him to talk "I don't really know, it just happened" answered Bill, sounding more serious for once.

Dipper watches as Bill's eyes were going sideway, clearly thinking about how to put it. That or if he should tell him, but he couldn't tell for sure what the dream demon was thinking. But he seemed okay to talk with it, so it was most likely the former.

"I guess it because he was threatening you" suggested the demon, looking back at him. Something had just snapped in him when he heard the small nuisance say he would try to hurt Dipper, after that his anger played the rest. "Yeah, I didn't want him to hurt you, so I felt like I needed to deal with it". He continued, thinking aloud both for himself and Dipper. He was still not sure where that feeling came from or why it pissed him off that much. Emotions were so confusing.

He was snapped out of his thought when he heard Dipper chuckles a little as if amused the demon couldn't tell himself why he did it. But overall, he was looking really happy about this new information and seeing him in such a greater mood made Bill smile too. "I see, well I will see not to get in too much trouble so the whole population of Gravity Falls won't fear to approach me just so you won't attack them" he joked, knowing very well he couldn't get in that much trouble anyway.

The mood was yet again lighter, the both of them talking, creeping a little closer to one another in the small bed of the room. Dipper had fallen asleep halfway through a story he was telling about him and Mabel, leaving Bill to the silence of the room, only broken by the breathing of the human.

The demon hesitated before slowly placing an arm around the younger one, hugging him closer to him, feeling not long after an arm looping around him too. He was calmly looking at the sleeping figure, thinking back at his idea to take the younger one on a date, or he guesses it would be a date by humans standards. Dipper really deserved a day off anything dangerous or too stressful after that mess of a day. Yeah, he would go with that.

He then simply closed his eyes, hugging the young Pines close to him protectively, not even knowing where all this protectiveness was coming from, but he could roll with it.

Dipper was waking up as the rays of sunshine were creeping up slowly on his face through the window, closing them quickly at first. Then he went for moving so they wouldn't shine in his eyes anymore, but was surprised when he felt he couldn't move. He opened one eye slowly, squinting and trying to see what was keeping him from rolling on himself, only to realised Bill was keeping him really close to himself, Dipper's back pulled flushed to the demon's torso, his arm protectively around him. He could feel the calm breath of the demon against his neck, making him shiver a little.

He took some minutes to calm himself, stuck between being a little flushed, overly happy and a little confused as to how they finished this close in their sleep. Once his emotions were put in place, or at least calmed down, he turned the best he could in the arms before calling Bill's name, his hand shaking gently the warm body behind him.

The dream demon seemed to slowly be able to get back to himself, looking back at the younger one, offering him a toothy grin. "Slept well my little Pine Tree?~" he asked sleepily, still not letting go of the human in his arm. It normally should, since he made sure nothing would come and bother Dipper's dream, letting him have a good time after all the negativity of the day. It wasn't that hard, even if the subconscious of the human wouldn't stop trying to get back to that.

“Yeah, I did” he answer, waiting for the demon to let go of him, but it never came. “Can you let go of me now? I don't think we should stay all day in bed” he said, even if a little voice in him was telling him he wouldn't mind if they were to stay like this all day, but he ignored it, not wanting to think about this.

Bill seemed to pout at him a little, but really briefly, before letting go of the young man, Dipper now able to sit up and go for his morning routine, even though he couldn't do much of it since he only had what was in his bag, which wasn't anything for staying the night elsewhere. The demon got up to put his shirt one, rolling up the sleeve. It wasn't the best he could look in his high opinion, since Mabel hadn't brought him much the day before, but at least they were clean for the most part. He would go with that, not wanting to wast power on trying to change it for something better.

Once Dipper got out of the bathroom, Bill directly went for what he thought the day before, telling him he was bringing him on a date. This seemed to surprise the young man, not sure if Bill was really meaning a date or if it was just the first word he could remember to describe it. None the least, he was really excited about the idea.

The demon was guiding him outside the room, locking it behind them since Dipper choice to not take his bag with him and having his stuff being stole wasn't on his to-do list for the day.

"Where are we going?" finally asked the human, turning a curious glance towards Bill. "Let get something to eat at the Greasy's Diner, I'm sure you must be hungry, after we could do stuff in town, your pick this time" he offered him, winking at Dipper even if he couldn't tell from the eye patch hiding his eye, though he could guess it. "I'm all in for a good breakfast" smiled Dipper, walking along to the diner that wasn't far away.

At least this time the Pines family didn't seem to be here too. Dipper knew they were more likely to eat at the shack, less likely to be in the mood for it anyway. He immediately had to stop thinking about it, preferring not to spoil the mood again.

"So~" started the demon after giving their order to Lazy Susan "Where do you want to go today?" he then asked once he looked back at the human. Dipper didn't really know what to do in town, he was more often than not running toward supernatural stuff, but his sore and bruised body wouldn't agree with him on that.

"Well, we could go and see a movie at the theatre" he suggested, knowing very well the theatre had some horror movies for the coming summerween. Plus, it was in the morning, so it would most likely be calm. The idea seemed to please Bill as he hummed in approval, grinning. "That sound fun, must be different from watching movies on your computer" commented Bill. He doesn't really remember watching movies at a theatre, mostly just play a little more back in the days, but it sounded interesting.

So it what they went for after their breakfast. Watching horror movies in the morning didn't have the same effect, but they were also not really the best one, pretty cheesy and predictable, but they were enjoying it none the least. Lowly snickering in their corner, commenting on it, knowing very well they wouldn't disturb the handful of other viewer seated far from them.

Bill even managed to convince Dipper to hide as the employe was cleaning and putting up the next movie, therefore only paying for the first one. They were able to watch four movies and a half when they had to run away when one of the employees found them still in here since the first movie.

They finally stopped a couple streets away, trying to catch their breath as they were laughing, Bill smiling at how happy Dipper seemed to be right now. Yeah, it was definitively better when Dipper was this happy. "That manager was really mad that we stayed this long" commented Dipper between two laughter, slowly calming down. "But it was worth it!" said Bill with a large grin "And it was fun" added Dipper.

They started to walk again, not sure if the man was still trying to go after them, it was still better not to have Deputy Durland and Bulbs called on them. "Want to stay on the summerween mood?" asked Dipper with a smile when an idea came to his mind, Bill doing a dramatic gesture to tell him to keep going on his idea. "Let find some costume, or well, just try on some funny one" suggested Dipper, finding the idea funny. "Well, that sounds fun" admitted the demon, soon after feeling Dipper catching his hand to drag him toward some shop who might have what they wanted.

So they went for that, trying on multiple disguises. Often picking up something for the other. Bill even managed to convince Dipper to try on a feminine costume, only on the condition that Bill would do the same. Of course, When Dipper got out he was the most embarrassed about his costume. On the other side, Bill was totally rocking the costume, clearly not bothered by it and finding the younger man embarrassment funny. "But you look cute in it" He commented to give him some encouragement, even if it only made him blush harder.

At some point they had tried mostly everything they found interesting and got out without getting anything, going for a walk in town. At some point they found an anxious looking Mabel on her phone, carry one of Dipper's duffel bag. “Shooting Star!” called Bill, only to get elbowed in the rib by Dipper as he was shushing him. They could see Mabel suddenly looking even more anxious, looking around her quickly.

"Mabel!" Dipper called to make her see them, reassured when her expression softens and that she didn't recognise the voice of Bill. She made sure no car was coming before crossing the road to join them, immediately taking Dipper in her arm. "Why didn't you respond to your phone? I was worried sick when you got out" she said, not letting go of her brother. Dipper took her in his arm, patting her back. "My phone died in the morning and I don't have a charger, sorry for worrying you".

She finally let go, smiling reassured now that she knew her brother was fine. "What with the bag?" asked Bill. "Um? Oh! I thought you might not want to get back to the shack and brought you some clothes, I also found Guillaume's clothes" she said, her tone clearly hinting at something, giving the bag to Bill. Dipper simply laughed at the insinuation, knowing arguing wouldn't go far.

"Anyway, where did you went after that?" she asked, pulling them both toward a new café in town so they could sit while talking. "Got us a motel room, I won't get back to the shack until Ford accepts to listen to me, though I doubt he's going to now that he knows about my tattoo". Mabel gave him a sorry smile, she really wanted to help, but she also knew how Grunkles Ford was about anything touching that triangle demon. "Sorry for letting you take the fall alone" she finally said, even if Dipper was the one who stopped her from doing so. "It okay, It would be better if at least one of use can still talk with him".

At the café they ordered something to eat, once they took seats Mabel changed the subject, seeing how Dipper didn't really want to talk about it. Instead, they went to explain how Dipper managed to get them a room, leaving out of the story the single bed they shared, and why it was even cheaper. It then went on random conversations until late in the evening, Mabel knowing she should get back home and try to put some sense into Their uncle's head.

But she grabbed Dipper's shirt before they could get too close to the room, asking if she could speak with him. "Sure, B- Guillaume you can take the bag in for me?" he asked, nearly slipping too as Bill did earlier, throwing the bag and the key at the demon when he gave him a thumbs up.

Mabel waited until the other man was in, looking a little more serious now. "Dipper... do you think Bill could be back?" she asked, unsure if she heard the voice correctly earlier. "Why would he be back?" asked Dipper, tensing a little at the idea that maybe she found them out. Mabel noticed, but blamed it on the idea of Bill being back, before continuing "I think I've heard someone calling me Shooting Star earlier on the street before you called for me" she explained "He's the only one that ever used that nickname for me" she adds as a proof. Of course he was, since anyone even thinking about nicknaming her that would get an anxious Mabel asking them not to call her that, she even got angry one time.

Dipper was feeling really guilty for lying to her about all of this, especially with how anxious she looked earlier at the idea of Bill, or at least her souvenir of the demon, being back. He gently went for a gentle squeeze of the shoulder, offering a small smile "Don't worry, he won't come back, I can promise that and if he had, we would have known way before that".

His sister seemed not sure at first, before letting out a relieved sigh, smiling back at him, even if it was small. "You're right Dip-dop, we would know". They said goodnight before splitting way. Dipper didn't like the feeling of guilt he had, but he wouldn't have to lie for too long, once Bill was powerful enough they would send him back and it would be like nothing happened and he wouldn't have to keep lying.

But somehow... even that idea wasn't making him feel better. It was actually making him feel worse.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry, this chapter is a little short, but I deviated from my first idea and postponed the event I wanted for the next chapter, feeling it fit better (?), anyway the story should be finished soon.

A week went on like this, staying away from the shack the most they could, Mabel bringing them things they might need. They were able to go with their motel idea only for two days, as the young woman had obligated them to stay at Pacifica house. Of course, the Northwest girl only accepted because Mabel was the one asking, she made it pretty clear. But Dipper wouldn't spit on that, he was still happy to have somewhere better to stay at, even if it was literally just for the night, going out early in the morning and getting back late.

They also tried to see if Bill finally had enough power to open a portal back to his how dimension, but it was still not enough and for the brief moment he managed to it was too small and was exhausting him quickly. So they were passing nearly all their time at the pond, which wasn't that bad with the good weather they had.

Dipper was also happily surprised to see himself heal a little quicker because of it, the dream demon trying to show him some spell that could help too in the future. More he was practising, better he was getting at it and more magic he could keep with him. They supposed it was because his body had never needed it before but since he was now using magic he should have more in reserve.

He was even able to keep on doing some research since other creatures were coming to the pond. He was even able to approach some of them, often helped by Bill so they wouldn't be too scared of the human, though a lot of them were more scared by the demon presence. It was really annoying to Bill, but he could probably not do much about it, so in those time he was letting Dipper run around, taking note for his journal, it was still pretty entertaining to watch.

As for the present time, they were both laying on the grass, letting the sun warm them as they were charging up from a little fight they had for fun. Obviously, Dipper knew the demon wasn't using most of his power nor was he using any of his skill to fight him. Sure the human was getting good at it, but he wasn't even close to being able to beat a demon that was created way before his family lineage was started.

“You're getting good at it” commented Bill with a laugh, playfully ruffling the human hair. “You will be able to explore the forest of Gravity Falls even more” he added. “I doubt being that powerful, but thank you for the compliment” chuckled Dipper.

"Then you will just have to call for me and I will come for you" said the demon without really thinking, Dipper suddenly a little quiet at the suggestion. He turned towards the demon, looking at him unsure "And what tell me you would actually come back to me if I call for you?" asked Dipper with uncertainty in his tone.

The Demon looked back at him, surprised by the turn this conversation was taking. Well, he guesses he could see where this was all coming from, he was a demon after all and since he was back all he wanted was to get back to his dimension, or at least it was what he wanted, he wasn't sure anymore. "Of course Pine Tree, I'll be there to protect you" he said with a small smile.

But they both knew he couldn't say for sure. Bill had never felt any emotions in all his life and he had the feeling all those emotions he had towards Dipper would go away once back in his original form. They stayed quiet for a moment, looking at each other.

No, truly he wanted to stay here, but he couldn't do that, he had a job to do and Dipper wouldn't be on earth forever. This thought was somehow making him feel even sadder and angry at this situation. Maybe he could find a way, but for now, it was looking so impossible.

He was taken out of his thought by the arm of Dipper suddenly dragging him in a hug, the younger one going to hide against his neck. "Hey don't look so sad" said Dipper feeling as if he should be the one about to cry here. He didn't even know why this whole situation was making him cry, why it was hurting so much to think about Bill going away.

"Pff, you're one to talk, YOU sound like you are about to cry" retorted the demon with a laugh, feeling like he needed some humour to not cry himself, hugging the younger Pines back. "Don't laugh at me!" asked Dipper "I just... I don't want you to go away anymore" he admitted, staying hidden in the crook of his neck, not sure what kind of face he was making.

Bill was taken aback by that statement, really not expecting for him to not want the demon to go away. Sure, they had gotten really close over the past weeks, but he would never have thought Dipper wanted him to stay now. He hugged him back, closing his eyes. "I don't want to go either... by I can't stay forever Dipper" admitted the demon. "Then stay for me!" asked the human.

Dipper quickly shut his mouth, surprised just as much as Bill was by his demand, hiding against the demon even more. He was waiting for the demon to refuse, or even just make a joke to dismiss the idea, but it never came. The demon was staying quiet. "Bill?"

"I could do that" finally came his respond, surprising Dipper. He then separated himself from Bill, looking at him, trying to see any sign that he was lying. But nothing, he was telling the truth about saying he could stay here with him.

"Why are you cry then!" asked Bill surprised as he was sitting up, making Dipper realised that he was, in fact, crying. He sat up too, feeling warm ungloved hands trying to wipe his tears. "I don't know, I just... I feel so happy about that... I don't know where this is coming from, I'm just happy that you said you would stay" respond Dipper with laughter coming too, trying to calm himself. "Don't cry if you're happy then" said Bill, clearly confused as to why he was crying if he was happy, but still chuckled, happy to see Dipper this relieved.

He kept his hand on Dipper's cheek, as they slowly were calming their laughter, looking at each other. After a couple of seconds, Dipper realised how close they were now and what position they were in, blushing. He turned his head away, trying to shake away that warm feeling in his chest, instead, he felt a hand ruffles his hair even more.

"Let get back to training" suggested Bill, standing up as he was putting his glove back on, ready to help to younger one in his training. They went with this, even if both of them were silently wishing they could have stayed like this a little longer, but didn't asked for it since they were sure the other one wouldn't want to.

They did that up until it starts to rain, caught completely of guard as they hadn't paid attention to the weather. And they had a long way to do to get to the Northwest mansion, they could have crashed at the shack to get Dipper's umbrella, but he was stubborn and didn't. Instead, they ran all the way back to Pacifica's house, laughing the frustration away once they were finally inside.

"What were you doing out there in the rain?" asked a surprised Mabel following Pacifica to the main entrance. "Mae, don't bother, your brother and his boyfriend are idiots" commented Pacifica as she was handing them dry towels. "B-boyfirend?!" asked Dipper, suddenly all flustered, Mabel giggling happily beside the young woman.

"Come on Dip-dop" said Mabel with a smile "You two are totally dating behind my back" she affirmed. "You should see how they always are stuck to each other even if the house has the place to be apart" added Pacifica as she was turning towards Mabel, even though she couldn't talk since the two women were always close to each other too.

Dipper felt an arm looping around his waist, feeling suddenly pulled toward the demon. "Darling! Didn't you tell your dear sister about us? I thought you would do it" said the dream demon playfully and jokingly, only making Mabel laugh even more at the embarrassment of her brother. Yeah, everything just to enter Mabel game and giving her more reason to continue.

Dipper was just confused as to why suddenly everyone was sure they were a couple. But the more confusing was why the idea was pleasing him. He didn't love Bill that way, did he? That when it all clicks in his head: he did love Bill that way. He was in love with the triangle demon who had tried to kill them all a couple of years ago. No... Bill wasn't like that anymore, or at least not for now with him. It wasn't sounding as bad as it was.

Dipper freed himself from Bill grip, saying he needed to take a shower now, ignoring his sister saying not to get angry at them, that they were just joking. Bill was confused as to why Dipper comportment had suddenly changed, following closely behind him, joining him in their room as the human was fishing some dry clothes out of his bag.

"You're okay?" asked Bill, making Dipper jumped since he hadn't heard him coming in. "You can always ask Mabel to stop if it really bothering you, I'm sure she will listen, I can stop too if you need to" suggest the demon with a concerned smile, not wanting for Dipper to flee from him all the time because of some dumb joke.

"It's not that" answered Dipper with an awkward smile "I'm just cold and need to take a shower, you don't need to worry" he tried to tell him, walking towards the connected bathroom. He needed the be alone for at least a couple of minutes, so he could fully process the realisation he had not even five minutes ago.

He went in the shower quickly, feeling the warm water on his cold skin, relaxing slowly. He wasn't sure if he should be surprised by the fact he was now in love with Bill, he never had a crush on another man. Or well, he knew in the past he had found other man... attractive, but never really looked into it. He wasn't like his sister, Mabel was pretty opened and seemed to have accepted since forever she doesn't give a crap about what gender the person has. Not that he never questioned himself either, he just never really went far in his questioning and never had the experience to tell him anyway.

"So... I love him" whispered Dipper to himself as if he needed to hear it from himself to believe it. He was happy to finally put a word to all the weird feeling he had in the past days, but feeling a little crushed when he thought it couldn't by mutual. "As if a demon could fall in love" he sadly laughed to himself.

I sighed before getting out of the shower, drying himself and changing. He looked himself in the mirror, forcing himself to smile and go as if nothing had happened. Yeah, he was used to his crush not being mutual, he could live with that, he just needed some days for the hurt to pass.

“You can go now” he said with a smile, passing by Bill to go and get his computer so he could write down in his numeric journal the notes he accumulated in the past days. Bill seemed unsure about the sudden change of attitude in the human but felt like Dipper wouldn't tell him unless he was cornering him, which wasn't something he wanted to do

He didn't take long in the shower, just time to wash off the sweat and warming himself a little before he could get out in clean and dry clothes. I jump in the large bed, laying next do Dipper and looking at what he was writing, leaving for another time his worries.

The demon helped with some more information he knew about the creature Dipper had studied, also reminding him about part of spells when the human was working on those. They had put the earlier event at the back of their mind, focusing on that, Dipper admitting that he might ask Mabel to bring his journal so he could put everything in it, those were just back up in the first place.

They didn't notice Mabel opening quietly the door, giggling silently to herself when she saw them sitting against each other as they were working on somethings, or rather arguing about some information. "Hey! love birds" she said to catch their attention, Bill turning first as Dipper was getting yet again all red in the face. "Dinner is ready and there are plates for you two" she said with a smile.

The boys took the lead, still arguing about whatever they were arguing about, Mabel smiling at them. There was something new in her brother's eyes and it was making her happy, feeling he finally understood something. She joined them quickly after, linking her arm with theirs, stopping the childish fight so they could go eat.

Maybe she could finally see her brother have a happy ending with someone he loves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> resume of this chapter:  
> Both boys are dense af about their feeling as they also have a super gay moment.  
> Dipper as an epiphany about his feeling for Bill, but prefer pining over telling him.  
> Bill is still dense af.
> 
> So yeah, Pacifica is right, our bois are idiots.


	9. Chapter 9

Dipper passed the next week trying not to get too flustered every time Bill would playfully flirt with him or when they were having more close and intimate moments. He was already happy enough he would stay with him, he didn't need to scare away the demon with emotion he might not be able to handle.

He was also trying not to read too far in those flirtatious moments or in the protective way Bill was acting around him. Even if he was really protective, he was still letting him do what he wanted to do, even if it was dangerous and sometimes suggested by the dream demon himself. After all, he had learned how stubborn the young man could be, but he was always hovering close by to make sure nothing would happen.

At least he was missing the possessiveness of Bill most of the time, as the demon was hiding it more. Whenever someone was showing too much interest in Dipper, Bill would discreetly show them to back off his human. He did surprise himself more than once as he was thinking of the younger Pines as his.

They also went on even more hunt for the crazy and weird stuff of Gravity Falls, as they weren't as actively looking to get Bill home as they did before. They were just enjoying their time, Bill sometimes able to drag him in some ideas that were most likely illegal, but always finished to be enjoyable at the end.

Dipper was still feeling guilty to lie like this to his twin, but somehow he wasn't feeling as guilty as before. He wanted to, for once, be selfish and keep for him what was making him happy and he knew Mabel would be against the idea of Bill staying this close to him.

But he knew he couldn't hide it forever from his twin, as careful as they were, they were slipping off some times and one day it would be the too obvious one. Mabel was maybe not the smartest in some academic field, but she wasn't stupid either, she would catch up. But just like his tattoo, he was going to hide all this for the most time, even if it meant only a couple of years.

Hiding it from his grunkles was the easiest, as he was going the least possible to the shack, passing quickly from time to time when he needed something. The duo would always have a little chat with Stan as the man wasn't as insistent as his twin. Even if he was trying to hide it, Dipper and Bill could see how the man was analysing his great-nephew movement when they were talking, making sure he wasn't injured. He knew well that asking Dipper to never ever go back on a hunt was just losing his time, he would just ask of him to be careful. He was clearly uneasy about the tattoo that the young man wasn't even trying to hide anymore, but they never went over that. "The kid must have his reason" had thought the old Mystery Man.

He crossed the path of Ford once when he was going for the basement and they mainly stared at each other, Dipper waiting for him to speak. The old man gaze had drifted to Bill at his side looking at something in the room before seeming annoyed and going down. He felt like Ford was avoiding them as much as he was, even if it was starting to hurt him a little to do so, as the anger had the time to die down.

Little did he knew Ford was trying to spy on them to finally have proof he wasn't just being paranoid with this Guillaume guy. But it wasn't going really far since Bill had caught up quickly and was making sure to either lose him in the forest or not act too out of line. He didn't tell Dipper, feeling the young man would just get angry again. It was mildly annoying really, but with some magic, he could deal with it so it wasn't so bad, especially since it wasn't all day for the whole time they were out from Pacifica mansion.

But this time, as they were swimming at the pond, he didn't put much attention since he hadn't sens the man and was just enjoying swimming with the young man and splashing around. When they got out of the water he used some magic to dry himself, levitating all around the young man as he was stealing his towel. They were both surprised when they heard a voice calling for Dipper to stay away from the Demon, both turning toward Ford who was running towards them.

Bill scoffed at himself for not being careful enough, but still gave a worried glance at the startled human who was about to find some excuses. "No Mason" cut Ford as he stops at a safe distance from them as the demon was now standing at the young man side, not ready to go away.

He levitated his clothes to himself, putting back the eye patch even if he knew Ford had seen the eyes. “I knew something was up and I won't let you do the same mistake I did!” affirmed the scientist as he was taking a step closer to go and grab Dipper so he could stay away from the demon, earning a low growl from the said demon.

Even the young man was surprised by Bill's growl, quickly drying himself to put back his shirt, throwing his pants in his bag, simply keeping his swimsuit. “Grunlke Ford I know what I'm doing” responded Dipper in a confident voice. “No your not, haven't you learn already!?” asked Ford before forcing himself to not raise his voice as he could already see the young man getting angry at him.

He passed a hand on his face, pinching the bridge of his nose. How could Dipper not see demons were always manipulating them to gain something? How did he not learn from his past experience with Bill Cipher just like he himself did? He took a deep breath, meeting yet again his great-nephew's eyes. "Just... let not violently fight, come to the shack so we can talk calmly like the mature adult we are" suggested Ford.

Dipper seemed to hesitate a little, not sure if it was supposed to be a trap, but he guessed the Man didn't have anything to harm Bill since he most likely hadn't known up until now. They couldn't tell either if he figured out it was Bill. Most likely not in their opinions, both knew Ford would already have flipped out otherwise and would not have kept it so calm.

"Okay then, let talk at the shack" responded Dipper, making sure he had taken everything he brought with them. Bill was following close by Dipper side, to Ford annoyance, even he if didn't comment on it.

The demon subtly interlinked their fingers, offering a reassuring smile to the human. The silence between them all was tense and he wanted to make the younger one less anxious. Because of all that tension, the walked seem to take hours before finally getting in the backyard of the shack, where Bill let go of Dipper's hand.

But once they were closer to the habitation he quickly grabbed the young Pines wrist, stopping him as he started to frown. "What wrong?" asked Dipper surprised by his action. "I can't get in there, a barrier has been put" whispered Bill closer to the human, seeing Ford looking back at them, clearly satisfied since it was just proving him right.

"Dipper, let's go" he said, but the young man didn't move from where he was, even if the demon had let go of his wrist. "No I won't, what tell me you won't just lock me up in the shack until I finally give up?" he asked, it was really extreme what he was talking about, but they already had acted more extreme than that before when under stress.

“You don't trust me?” asked the older man, making Dipper suddenly feel guilty, closing his eye and a deep breath. “Not when you want to take everything I like away from me” he said, opening his eyes again, clearly not even close to change his mind.

"Are you really telling me you are putting a demon manipulating you over you own family!?" he asked, turning fully towards them this time, his gaze going from Dipper's serious face to the shit-eating grin demon. It was stronger than Bill, he was delighted to see the man getting this angry over the young man not listening to what he was asking him to do. Clearly, he was forgetting Dipper was now starting to be a grown adult and wasn't an immature teenager.

"What's going on here?" came the voice of Stan, coming out of the Shack with a curious and worried Mabel. They both were attracted by the voice starting to suddenly raise in the backyard, not really expecting to find their twin arguing out there. And from what they could tell, it wasn't just about Dipper not going in the forest again.

"What is going on? Mason is being dangerously stupid by partnering with a demon, that what is happening!" explained Ford, making Dipper click his tongue at the insult. Then it was Stan and Mabel's turn to look at the two others, surprised and not expecting it. "Don't you think you overreact grunkle Ford? Come on, Guillaume can't be a demon" asked Mabel with a tense chuckle.

“No I'm not and I have my proof this time” affirmed the man, and now that he knew he was a demon, losing them all the time was easily explainable. Stan was about to argue that he was most likely just reaching to find his proof because the young man was a nice boy, but stopped when he saw Guillaume floating around his great-nephew.

"Oh my god, you really needed to do that" mumbled Dipper, facepalming at the demon action. "They were going to argue for hours on that and Ford already got it" respond Bill, whispering in his ears. "What are you whispering to him, demon?" asked Ford, making the dream demon roll his eyes.

"Look grunkle Ford, I get it, we all had bad experiences with demon" started Dipper, hearing Ford say "Bad? Horrible" but decided to ignore that. "But I know what I'm doing and it not what had happened to you, there's no manipulation in that".

"Because you could tell if you were manipulated?" asked Ford, clearly not buying the fact that there was literally nothing here. But it was all true, they hadn't even made a deal!

"Dipper... Poindexter is right, you can't trust a demon, this is really dangerous" finally said Stan. As Ford was looking satisfied from finally having someone on his side, Dipper was getting annoyed. Why wouldn't they trust him? He shot a glance at Mabel, but gain from it nothing more than a confused look and uncertainty.

"Dipper, please, just get in so we can talk about it calmly and without you being influenced by him" asked the scientist in a more gentle tone. He would have got closer, but he only initiated the move to go closer that he saw the warning glare the demon was giving him, yet again getting closer to the human.

Dipper clenched his jaw, his hand balling in closed fists, nail nearly digging in his palm. He was starting to get angrier over the fact they wouldn't try to listen to him. He knew that even if he was going inside, they wouldn't listen to him other than if he was agreeing with them. Ford was asking for trust when he was not even trying to trust the younger one on what he was doing.

“You won't even listen to me, what the point of getting in?” he asked, before starting to walk so he could get to the front of the shack and go. He wasn't going to stay just so he could be scolded for hours without even getting the chance to prove them everything was fine. He took the road back for Gravity Falls, needing to yet again calm down. He really wasn't expecting for his summer to be filled with that much frustration against his own family.

As they were walking in silence Dipper could hear Mabel run after them, calling to him even if he wasn't turning towards. "Dipper wait! I want to talk with you!" she called, making the young man stop and turned toward her "About what! You too want to convince me he's brainwashing me?" he asks harshly, immediately regretting the tone he used when he saw Mabel hurt expression. "Sorry, I shouldn't take my anger on you" he said calmly this time.

They stayed in silence, the young woman giving some glances towards the demon, Bill understanding quickly she might not want to go on the subject with him around. "Wow look at that, a deer!" he said as he was starting to walk towards the forest, no deer in sight, leaving them "I need to go see it".

Dipper looked a little confused at the demon, but sighed, guessing it might be better like this. “Dipper I... I really want to trust you” started Mabel “But how can you know it totally safe?” she asked, coming closer to her brother, gently taking his hand, offering a small smile, showing him she was going to listen.

Dipper passed a hand on his neck, looking at the ground. "I've been around him all summer up until now, I know he isn't trying to manipulate me, he's not trying to get something by using me" he started "He helped me find things I never saw in Gravity Falls, helped me complete my notes on some oddities and creatures, he even showed me how to use magic!" he said, his tone clearly getting more excited about those activities he did with the demon "And he never ask for something after all the thing he showed me and taught me, he never even mentions making a deal with me, even as a joke" he added.

He looked up at Mabel, his sister still gently smiling at him, feeling reassured that she was thinking about it. "I trust you Dipper" she said after some moment of silence, giving a little squeeze to his hand "I mean, I'm still a little uneasy about the idea of a demon being so close to my brobro" she admitted, "But I've been around you two and I doubt my worries would come true".

Dipper was fighting tears, feeling so relieved that his twin was so understanding and was trusting him, feeling his hands shake. "I don't get why Ford won't trust me" he said, his voice wavering "I'm scared he might go away, that great-uncles Ford might try something stupid! I don't want to lose Guillaume" he added, feeling good to let his worries out "I love him" he finally admitted to his sister, even if he doubted it was a surprise to her.

"Wait, really?" came the response, but by two very distinctive voices with two different tones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know I make Ford look really bad, but I swear I don't hate him.


	10. Chapter 10

“ _I love him”_

_"Wait, really?" came the response, but by two very distinctive voices with two different tones._

The first one was obviously Mabel, sounding somehow sarcastic as if she hadn't already managed to get that. This one wasn't a problem for Dipper.

But the second one made him freeze, looking towards the edge of the forest, Bill coming out from it, dropping the two weirdly shaped pine cone he was bringing back for some reason. There it was going now, him not wanting to tell him.

The demon was quick to be close to the young man, capturing his face by putting his hand on his cheek, looking in his eyes. "Say that again" he asks, somehow wanting to make sure he didn't hear it wrong. "Say what?" asked dumbly Dipper, an anxious laugh escaping from his lips, tears still stuck at the corner of his eyes. He stops laughing when he saw what glance Bill was giving him, clearly not wanting to laugh about all this.

"I... I love you" he finally said again, trying not to look away from the attentive eye of the demon. Something seems to flash in Bill's eye as if he was just now putting in order some things. He wanted to ask the human if he was serious about this or if he was joking, but Dipper wasn't the kind of person to joke around like this.

Dipper wasn't sure what he should be thinking of Bill reaction. Was it good? Did it mean he wouldn't reject him? He had a response to the latter question when he felt arm wrapping around him tightly. He turned to Mabel, the young woman trying not to start giggling at them for finally going with what they were feeling.

Bill was somehow feeling so relieved to hear that, overly happy from the inside. Why was he so happy to learn Dipper was loving him in a way more than a friend? Was he in love with the human too? It was so weird for him to think he could feel such feelings since it never happened before. But it could explain why he was so protective and possessive about Dipper, it would make sense to him. He wanted the young man all to himself because he loved him.

Dipper finally felt confident enough to loop his arm around Bill's torso. It was feeling good not to be rejected by the one he loves. He couldn't tell yet if the demon was feeling the same, but it was looking close to it, he wouldn't force him to put it into words.

“I know it all happy and hugging time” commented Mabel with an amused smile, “But we are in the middle of the road so we probably should keep on moving” she then suggested, looking at Dipper violently blushing at the comment. Bill didn't let go of him for that, just taking his hand to gently drag him with them back to the town where Mabel was proposing to eat something at Lazy Susan restaurant to celebrate them finally stopping being blind.

Dipper was looking at Bill, barely listening to his sister saying it was finally time for them to go forward with what they were feeling because it was starting to be so frustrating to see them be so oblivious to it. He just couldn't wrap his mind around the fact the demon wasn't rejecting him like he believed he would. He was sure a being like Bill might not want such emotion directed towards him, that he would simply go with something completely platonic.

He closed the gap between them, their shoulder gently bumping into one another, catching the demon attention. Bill's grip on his hand tightens a little as he gave him a smile, keeping this closeness as they keep on walking towards the Greasy's Diner.

[-_-_-]

The following day, Mabel and Stan were looking at Ford walking in circles in the basement, the table full of papers. They were both worried the man was going to exhaust himself over Dipper not listening to him about the demon. And he now was also claiming that there was something more to it, that he was missing something.

He was able to talk with Stanley the day before, the man agreeing with him over the fact it wasn't a good idea for Dipper to stay around a demon. He didn't have fond memories about dealing with demons so he wasn't really comfortable with the idea of one running around his family. But something was still tugging at him somewhere, telling him Dipper knew what he was doing and that they should trust him more, though he couldn't say that to his twin. Problem was, they hadn't even had the time to hear Dipper's side of the story, as he ran away under Ford insistence.

Mabel, on the other hand, had talked some more with her brother once they were back at Pacifica's house and alone. She had come to the conclusion she would trust him fully, though promising she wouldn't hesitate to change her mind if she ever heard the demon harmed him. She was ready to trust Dipper, knowing well he wouldn't mess with demons if it was dangerous, he had his lesson years ago. She was feeling like her twin was still hiding something, but forced herself to trust him fully, that what he needed right now, for at least one of them to trust his judgement.

"Grunkle Ford don't you think you should trust Dipper a little more?" asked Mabel, uneasy from all the tension there was in her family right now. This made the man stop in his track to turn back towards his great-niece. He was going to say something about Dipper not trusting him either, but she cut him off before he could do "Yeah, but why are you expecting him to blindly trust you when you won't even try to listen to him and trust him?". She started to sound a little irritated, having to listen to the same arguments over and over again, which surprised the two men.

Ford didn't answer to that, only watching the young woman huff from this lack of response before hopping off the counter she was sitting on to get out. Clearly, there wasn't much she could do to try and change the old man mind. Stanley stayed a little longer, watching his twin trying to figure out what he was missing. After some time he sighed, standing up to get out too, telling his brother that if he needed him he would be with Soos.

Ford finally stop pacing around when everyone was out. There was only one place he could find more information about the demon and he needed to be alone for that, knowing even Stanley would be against it. He then went back to the ground level, making sure not to catch anyone attention. When he was sure Mabel was in the living room he went upstairs, going directly for Dipper's room.

He knew the young man was like him and was taking note of everything, so he must have some things on that demon. He wasn't stupid, if Dipper was still doing his research and exploration in Gravity Falls, he must be taking note somewhere. Though it wasn't sure they were still here since he was now living with the Northwest family.

He started with his shelves where books were neatly placed, but nothing other than novels and encyclopedias on the supernatural. He took a quick glance at the wooden chest, but there were only clothes. The best he found was at the desk, in a drawer. He then took place on the chair he took a look at them.

Most were loss notes he made on spell the demon had taught him or observation he made about said demon. Really, not much to help him, even if some information were sounding familiar. Then he notices one where Dipper was trying to figure out the name Guillaume. This made Ford frown, so Guillaume wasn't that demonic being real name, or at least not the one he was going by with Dipper.

There were quick notes made on the paper, some crossed out and further on the paper he was going, clearer it became. He was slowly catching up with all the information, apprehension building up in him as he didn't like where it was going. Then the result was clearly written and underline a couple of times.

Guillaume is french for → William which can be shortened with → Bill 

He notices underneath that conclusion another handwriting, clearly not the one from Dipper, writing ' _Good job Pine Tree, I knew you were smart enough to find out_ '.

Ford needed to reread those two last information a couple of times more, as if he couldn't believe what he was reading.

Dipper was dealing with Bill Cipher since the start of this summer and he never told them? Even worse, he was blatantly lying to there faces since the first time they meet with Bill? How was he even back? Had Dipper done it, with that tattoo he was feeling like it was sure he did, but why would he do that?

He was feeling both furious and confused, knowing he needed to take care of that before Bill could do more damage than he must have already done. After all, there was no way Dipper was listening to him willingly, he must have done something to the young man.

He went out of the room, taking the paper with him, doubting the young man would notice since he was never coming here anyway. He would need to be alone with the demon to do what he wanted to do to protect his family. He couldn't let that demon harm any of them again, but for that he needed him to be alone, so he would need to wait.

Didn't Mabel mention she was going out with them in the forest? They were most likely going to come to the shack before or after, that when he needed to act since Bill couldn't get in.

[-_-_-]

As expected, the day after Mabel was going with them on some kind of expedition in the forest to find some rare plants. They had to come to the shack first so she could change, having passed the whole night with Pacifica and hadn't brought clean clothes with her. Dipper took that chance to fill his water bottle and search for some x-file DVD he had so they could watch some later.

Outside, Ford was coming from the front of the house, finding Bill quite easily as he was just waiting near the forest edge. The demon spotted the man quickly, arching a brow as he starts smiling a little. "Came to make peace with me?" he asks in a joking tone, knowing very well it wouldn't be that.

“No, I came to finish business with you Bill” he said, seeing the demon eye suddenly snap back to him at his name, his smirk dying down a little, knowing this was a little more serious. "Oh?" he asked, "And how are you going to do that little Sixer?" asked the demon.

He quickly had his answer when he saw the man taking out from his coat the Memory gun, making the demon suddenly look more serious. He was really not joking when he was talking about taking care of him. He didn't wait to see if Ford was really going to shoot, sprinting back into the forest where he could more easily lose him.

Dipper had notice Ford getting in the backyard through the window, but only supposed he was going to argue with the demon. His blood froze in his vein when he saw the Memory gun, dropping everything he had in his hand to run back out of the shack, bumping into a startled Stanley asking where he was going in a hurry as he catches the kid from falling.

Mabel was back, running as she heard the commotion downstairs, asking what was going on. Dipper quickly yanks himself from the loss grip, spluttering some vague response about Ford doing something stupid as he starts running into the forest. The two other Pines were quick to follow.

Adrenaline was keeping him on his run, not slowing down a notch, nearly falling down a couple of times but managing to catch himself back every time. the fear fueling his adrenaline wouldn't die down until he was sure nothing bad would happen.

Father in the forest the demon had finally stopped running, sure his illusion had stopped Ford, trying to catch his breath. This stupid human body wasn't good for sprinting on long distance. He froze and suddenly turned when he saw the man finally catching up to him, annoying him that this time the man had seen right through his illusions.

"What did you do to make Dipper follow you?" asked harshly the researcher, not believing there could be more than manipulation in their relationship.

Dipper was not far, tracking anxiously where they went, his heart drumming in his chest, forcing his body to keep running like this. He wasn't giving attention to Stan and Mabel running after him, calling for him to explain what was wrong. He couldn't be too late, he started running after them so quickly, he couldn't be late.

"I made your precious boy fall in love with me" respond the demon as he was straightening his pose, an amused smirk on his face. He couldn't not say it like this.

It only made the older man madder, pointing back the Memory gun at him, ready to take care of the demon once and for all.

Dipper could see both silhouettes, he was so close yet was feeling like he would be there too late.

The demon wasn't really surprised, but his body was still exhausted from running like this - stupid mortal body with no physical endurance - but was going to try anyway until he heard his name being called from behind Ford.

Ford looked quickly behind him, he needed to do that quickly or else it would be too late. Ready to pull the trigger.

“NO!” screamed Dipper, suddenly passing ford and going in front of Bill.

Ford was too slow to react and stop his movement, the trigger was quickly pulled and the blow was fired.

Then two bodies fell to the ground.

The two new spectators had stopped running abruptly.

The silence was dominating the place, all eyes on the body laying on top of the demon.

It was as if time had been stopped.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, I was caught up between work, being at my friend's house and my focus deciding to work on something else. but here is the final chapter, hope you enjoy it!

Everyone was silent after what happened, not moving from even a millimetre.

Bill suddenly sat up, his shaky hand obligating Dipper to keep himself upright as he was straddling his legs. A panicked gaze was scanning the young man face, apprehending the worse. Had Dipper took the shoot for him? Was he now going to forget everything about him? Everything had happened so fast he couldn't have pushed them both away from it.

He left out a breath he didn't know he was keeping when Dipper offered him a small smile, as if not sure himself it was all real. "Wow, I made it" said Dipper in disbelieve, apparently sure he was going to be hit by it. He was surprised when he was suddenly pulled to Bill's chest, the demon hugging him tightly against him, as if scared he would go somewhere he couldn't reach him, hiding in his neck.

"You idiot!" he restrained himself from screaming in the crook of his neck not to hurt his ear "You could have been hit by the Memory gun" he said as if it wasn't something evident. He was still feeling panic in himself, unable to calm himself from the fear of being all forgotten by Dipper. "What should I have done if you forgot about me, what should I do with this weird loving feeling I have if you don't have it too" He whispered against his skin. "Please, never do that again Mason".

The young man was surprised by his tone, sounding nearly as if he was begging him not to do that again. He was also surprised by him actually using his name, already used to him calling him by his silly nickname or even the one everyone was using for him.

He left out a chuckle, relieved too of not having forgotten about the feeling he had. Dipper hugged him tightly back, slowly rubbing the demon back to calm all the trembling he couldn't control. "I promise I will never do that again" he promises as he gave a shy kiss on the demon's neck, not able to do better since he was still hiding against his neck. "Now you can calm down, I'm safe and still remember you plainly, so you don't need to panic anymore" he said, keeping on slowly reassuring Bill on his safety and how he won't forget about him, how he could now relax.

It was hard and weird to see the demon looking this distress since it wasn't something he normally was. And Dipper doubted he was actually used to fear in his original form, or just feel anything even. So it was probably hard for Bill to keep up with such a distressing feeling. He would like to be scared of what could have happened if they hadn't fallen in time, but he instead focuses on calming his love.

They were so lost into reassuring each other that they totally forgot about the other Pines still near them. Ford had dropped the gun, most likely damaging it, when he thought he had shoot Dipper instead of Bill. Sure, it would have most likely just made him forget all about Bill, but he still couldn't believe he did such a big mistake, because what would have happened if he had tried to erase something else?

He was taken back to reality when strong hands suddenly grabbed him by the collar of his coat, turning him towards an angry Stanley. "What the fuck Stanford!!" he yelled, "You could have hit the kid with that!". Ford couldn't respond to that, his wide eye going from the angry expression on his twin face to the two lovers embracing each other tightly near them.

Stanley wasn't one to joke with memory loss, as he was still struggling sometimes from what happened. Even if it was about forgetting that damn demon, he was against using it on any of his family. Because he knew. He knew how hard it was to have part of your memory totally blank, even if you know there is suppose to be something. It's extremely frustrating.

Mabel hadn't been able to move, still looking at the pair stuck in each other's arms. What would have happened if it hit her twin? What would have happened with all the memory he had from him? As much trauma it caused them, it was also what build a big part of their personality and who they were now, how could Dipper forget what had made him who he is? And as selfish as it sounded, how would she have been able to keep going forward with no one to stand beside her with those memories?

And as much as she couldn't believe that her precious brother was in love with Bill Cipher, she couldn't stand seeing him forget about the one love he had that was finally mutual. She wasn't sure how she was feeling about that, but it wasn't something she was concerned about for now. She was just relieved her brother was fine and could still be happily in love.

After some minutes of being tangled to each other and Stanley mostly yelling at his brother about how bad of an idea it was, Dipper and Bill finally got up. The demon had finally calmed down, taking off the eye patch to pass his hand on his face, trying to hide he had nearly cried. When his hand finally left his face, Dipper froze at the glowing red iris of the demon, glaring at Ford.

Dipper was quick to catch Bill, even if it wasn't that efficient, trying to keep him from doing anything the Ford. “You” growled the demon, making the twins shut up and froze, turning toward the angered demon. If Dipper wasn't doing something quickly Ford was most likely a dead man.

Dipper hugged him from behind, his head against his upper back, trying the pull him backyard. He could see it was taking everything from Bill side not to just push him away violently. “Let me go Dipper” he asked only to feel the other one pull hard.

"Please Bill no" asked Dipper, not loosening his grip one bit. "You promised you wouldn't hurt anyone from my family, you got to keep your promises". Bill really wanted to say he nearly shoots him and he didn't really care, but he knew Dipper wouldn't forgive him if he was hurting a member of his family, or at least voluntarily and violently.

The other Pines were surprised to see the demon listening to him, even if it was clearly pissing him off to not be able to do what he wanted to do now. Was he so attached to the young man he was ready to put his murderous anger on the side? Just because Dipper asked him to do so?

He just turned to Ford, making the man flinch a little, then looked at the Memory gun on the ground, using some magic to make it come to him. He didn't even bother trying to see how it work, a thing he would most likely have done in normal time, instead, he started to turn it to shred with the help of some spell. Like this, it wouldn't be close to hurt Dipper anymore.

He could feel the young man relax a little against him, clearly satisfied with the fact he didn't go for hurting his great-uncle. Dipper had to admit, at least this way they wouldn't have to worry about Ford using the Memory gun again.

"Can you let go now" asked Bill, eyes closed as he kept his voice more gentle this time, "I need to take a walk to calm down" he simply explained. Dipper thought it could be a good idea for him to do that, guessing it might not just be a walk and destruction might add, but at least it wouldn't be from his family.

He then let go of the demon, letting out a relieved sigh, starting to head for his family, supposing he needed to speak with them and that the demon would prefer to be alone. Well, it was a wrong guess, as he suddenly felt Bill grabbing him to carry him in his arm bridal style before turning to walk away. Dipper had looped his arm around his neck to be sure he wouldn't be dropped, blushing at how he suddenly choose to carry him around. “Bill!” he yelped, before asking him multiple time to let him down.

He tried for the next five minutes, but nothing came out of it so he settled on trying to enjoy the “walk”. At least he could feel the demon slowly calming down, his eyes going back to their beautiful golden colour. He simply rested his head against his shoulder, sighing as he closed his eyes.

He was trying not to feel a little panicked himself at the idea he could have forgotten everything about Bill. It was something really scary to think about and he didn't like the idea, but it had been the first thing he thought of doing at the moment. But apparently, he had a lot of luck because it didn't happen. It didn't happen and it what they should focus on right now. Plus, the Memory gun was pretty much destroyed right now.

He was surprised when the demon finally stops walking, opening his eyes again as he was slowly being put down. Bill didn't let go of him though, keeping him close to him and hugging him. The demon managed to calm himself down, knowing what kind of consequences would have followed if he had hurt anyone. He couldn't understand why Dipper was so protective of someone who nearly whipped an important part of his memories.

Sure a lot of the memories Dipper had of him were... bad, really bad even, but slowly he was changing that. He was pretty sure the young man wouldn't want it to disappear in the fraction of a second. Especially as an accident since he jumped in front of it carelessly.

"I'm okay" smiled Dipper again, as if to make sure Bill was understanding that "Stanford clearly as learn his lesson and without the gun he can't do anything anymore" he continued to reassure the demon, but also himself. His hand were gently playing in the golden looking hairs, replacing them neatly. "So no need to kill him or harm him" he still warned, knowing well it was still somewhere deep down in Bill.

The demon just responded with a sigh, mumbling something about being too loving of Ford, but still promising not to do anything to him. Dipper didn't felt the need to add Stan in his request, as Bill didn't seem to see him as a threat. Sure he wouldn't be happy about Bill being there, but he wouldn't have tried something like this. Also, he didn't know about Bill and hadn't had a say in the matter.

He suddenly realised they were yet again close to the shack, a little surprise he took them back there. Bill must have felt his surprise and hesitation since he went on explaining "I thought you might need to talk with them". And it wasn't false, Dipper needed to speak with them, otherwise, things wouldn't get better, or at least settled things a little.

He called Mabel on her phone, gently waving at her when he saw her appear in one of the windows. He asked if they could calmly all talk outside over something to drink. Mabel was more than happy to help, as she really needed an answer as to why was Bill back and why was Dipper wanting to protect him so much.

Once they had placed a table with enough chair, made sure they had some light with them since it was getting late and finish making coffee, hot chocolate and other warm drink, they all sat down. As expected from everyone, it was silent at first and a little awkward due to what happened earlier. As much as Mabel wanted to trust her brother, she still couldn't really trust Bill and was actually feeling betrayed that her twin choice not to tell her, though she could see why. The Stans were not really in a much better mood, as none of them wanted to have anything to do with the demon.

“Sooo” started Mabel as she was looking at the demon poking at the marshmallow she put his hot chocolate, a little uneasy “This is Bill? As in Bill Cipher the triangle demon who tried to take over our dimension?” She ask. “Yes” responded Dipper as Bill was simply chuckling at how precise the young woman had to get to make sure it was him. “The one and only” grinned the demon as he finally turned his gaze away from his drink “But don't worry Shooting Star, I'm not here for that”.

He was surprised by how the young woman seemed to cringe at the nickname, looking at Dipper as the young pines start mouthing him silently "Bad memories". Well, he guesses it was understandable, maybe he could try some other nickname for her as she was someone Dipper really loved.

"And why should we trust you?" asked harshly Ford who hadn't touched his tea yet. Dipper sighed, not surprised about with the way he was acting. "Because I do, isn't this a good start? He really isn't there for that or anything evil at all" he responds calmly, knowing getting all angry again wouldn't lead anywhere and would just make thing worse. Also, it not really like there was much to hide anymore.

"But what if he is manipulating you into-". "Grunkle Ford" suddenly cut Mabel, looking at him, knowing very well he was going back to his accusation and unwillingness to listen. "I'm just asking" he said as he starts frowning, not seeing why he couldn't ask again, even though it wasn't likely for him to listen unless Dipper was agreeing on him for that. "It already good that I'm keeping up with his presence" he commented.

"Well, if your not happy you can always fuck off, I'm here to stay, deal with it old man" said Bill, a visibly forced smile on his face trying to keep being civil just like his little Pine Tree had asked. Clearly, he wasn't over the fact Ford nearly erased all memory Dipper had of him, either it being on purpose or not.

Ford simply got up to leave as he knew it would only lead to more screaming and hurting than anything else. Dipper was hurt by the fact he wasn't going to try and at the very least listen to what he had to say without brushing it all of. He felt fingers gently brushing against his, making him look toward the demon who was giving him a genuine smile, trying to reassure him.

Now they were left with a very confused and sceptical Mabel; and a Stan uncomfortable and angry at Bill since he was the reason why he needed to have his memory erase and who had been indirectly the reason why his twin had been away for thirty years. But they were both at least ready to listen. Were they ready to forgive Bill for what he did? No, of course not, or at least not that easily. But did they saw how important the demon had become to Dipper? Yes, they were not blind. That the only reason why they were ready to listen, because Dipper was looking the happiest they ever saw him outside of the little circle of people he know.

"I'd like to know how he came back? Didn't we killed him the last time?" ask Stan before taking a sip at his coffee, looking from on to the other. "Pfff, of course, this wouldn't kill me" he said, seeing the glare the man gave him before continuing "Sorry to hear you had to get your memory erased for nothing" he tried. Of course, now it was feeling like they did all this for literally nothing, so this was making Stan angry, but he could see it wasn't Bill fault for that. He was a powerful demon after all and it is something they should have taken into consideration.

"We honestly don't really know how it worked" admitted Dipper, trying to step away from that minefield. "When we got there I went to his statue" he started, gaining a confused look from Mable who didn't get why he would do that "Don't ask why Mabel, I don't know why I went, I just felt like it, anyway before going back to the shack I went to grab the stone hand and that somehow made Bill appeared" he explained.

The two other were still confused as to how it all happened, but clearly, Dipper had no clue himself or he would already have told them more about it. What would be the point of hiding it now anyway? "We are still trying looking into it" finally stated the demon, eating the melted marshmallows "We supposed it had something to do with Dipper's tattoo since it reacted to it too, but it still all confusing" he admitted. "Would it have worked with mine too?" asked Mabel out of curiosity.

Stan looked back at Mabel, somewhere stuck between being surprised by it and 'well of course she do'. Mabel offered a hesitant smile, not needing to be scolded for it too, though she felt like he would be more willing to hear why they did it. "I couldn't tell, maybe? If it doesn't work it would probably because of the location, Dipper's one is really close to where our hand were connected" suggested Bill.

They left them to process a little that information, as Stan was asking if they know how to get Bill back. "We started with trying to get his power back for that" admitted Dipper, as it has been for some time their primary objective "But we got distracted from that task and choice to work on it later". Dipper felt himself relax when he heard his twin giggling at getting distracted, as she could guess what had been the distraction.

"Did you two made a deal?" asked the young woman, as it was clearly something worrying her, not wanting for Dipper to be stuck in something bad. "No, at least not an official one, I didn't even suggest one" smiled the demon with a laugh. "Just friendly human deal that wouldn't cost my body and mind" added Dipper.

As they were slowly talking about this Dipper managed to calm himself. After Ford departure, everything went more smoothly. Obviously, he wasn't expecting for Stan and Mabel to be forgiving Bill and wanting to be close with him, but at least they left him a chance to talk. He was able to explain without any bad interruption how well the demon had been with him, how he helped him not get hurt, how he taught him magic and how he overall made his summer better. Sure he was having a good time with Mabel and the Stans, but the men were getting older and Mabel was often with her friends. He didn't say it was bad, it just he wasn't really passing time with other people.

"So, are you two dating now?" asked Mabel curious. Again, she was stuck between being overjoyed for her twin, but at the same time, it was Bill. Though, she had been with the demon all summer, she saw how he was to Dipper and something in her really wanted to believe that he would never do something bad to her brother.

"We are still working that out" "Well of course" came the too respond at the same time, both of them looking at each other, confused. Apparently, Dipper wasn't sure, as he was still not exactly sure of Bill's feeling, though what happened earlier was helping a lot. They also hadn't really spoken about once at Pacifica house, so he was really not sure about it. But apparently, the demon was sure they were, not really needing more talk about it. He was confused as to why Dipper though they needed to speak more about it.

"Well, it doesn't sound sure there" commented Stan, feeling like he had missed a big part of the story when he was looking at Mabel knowing so much. Well, it wasn't that weird when he thought about it, Dipper would clearly be more open to his sister than him. Though he would have like to know, because even if his lover wasn't a lady he wouldn't mind, he was far from against that.

"What do we need to work out?" asked Bill, sounding clearly confused as to why Dipper thought that. "Because after accidentally confessing to you, you haven't really given me a clear answer and we haven't spoken about it afterwards" respond Dipper.

"Of course I love you back" responded Bill, even though the latter part of his statement was more of a whisper as he was embarrassed to say it out loud like this and clearly not used to it. "Wasn't it clear with how I act with you and what I said earlier today?" he asked, looking deep into the half drank hot chocolate, not wanting to make eyes contact with anyone right now.

As Dipper stayed quiet in shock, they could hear Mabel laugh "Of course you need to tell him, Dipper is a little stupid he won't catch up if you don't tell him directly" she commented. This made Dipper blush even more than he already was.

Bill seemed to mumble something none of them heard, before turning towards Dipper. Apparently, he needed to embarrass himself with human convention to make his point come across. "I love you Pine Tree, so stop doubting it" he said, before grabbing the collar of his shirt to pull him closer, kissing him. Dipper was surprised by how gentle the kiss was, supposing Bill would be more of a harsh type. Well, he wouldn't complain, just kissing him back.

They separated as Mabel was cheering for them and clapping her hand, giggling. She would probably need some time to accept it was Bill and even maybe trust him more, but this couldn't stop her from being happy about it. Stan was confused, as he would never really have seen it coming, but guessed he might need to go with it. Maybe he could trust Dipper's judgement a little more on this.

“Don't need to cry kid, you should be happy” said Stan in a teasing tone, drinking from his coffee, knowing well just from looking at him that he was just overflowing with happiness. If it was going to make his great-nephew that happy, he could get used to it and he bet Ford would come around at some point too.

"Why are you always crying when you're happy?!" asked Bill, somewhere between confused, overly happy and amused, helping the young man wipe his tears away, both laughing. Soon after they went back to talking, this time the tension completely gone from the little group.

Yeah, they all could get used to it if it meant Dipper could keep being filled with such happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I did it, I finally managed to finish a fanfiction! I've started multiple over the years (most I don't have anything left to my sadness), but I never finished a long fanfiction, never! I'm proud of myself to be able to do so for once. Hope y'all have enjoyed.


	12. Extra: Alternative ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here an extra for y'all, hope you enjoy it :)

_Then two bodies fell to the ground._

_The two new spectators had stopped running abruptly._

_The silence was dominating the place, all eyes on the body laying on top of the demon._

_It was as if time had been stopped._

Bill was laying frozen on the ground, not daring to make a move. Why!? Why had Dipper jumped in front of him to protect him?! It wasn't as if he couldn't defend himself.

After a couple of seconds, the young man finally started to sit up, everyone holding their breaths. The demon slightly raised himself on his elbows, looking up hopefully at his little Pines Tree. All three other pairs of eyes on Dipper were hopeful that nothing bad had happened, that the Memory gun was actually defective after its last use.

The demon's expression was slowly changing when he saw Dipper looking confused at first, then it totally dropped when the young man eyes finally landed on him.

There was no recognition in them. The young Pines was looking clearly confused as to why he was sitting in some stranger laps. Why were they all in the middle of the forest? Why were they all looking so aggravated? Why was this blond stranger laying under him looking so heartbroken?

Dipper quickly got up not to be on him, taking a couple of steps back from Bill, holding his head as it was starting to hurt.

"D... Dipper are you okay?" asked Mabel as she trotted to join him, helping him stay correctly upright, giving some glances towards Bill to makes sure he was alright too. "My head hurt so much... But why are we all here? Who is he?" finally asked Dipper, trying to get some answers.

Mabel couldn't find anything to tell him. How to explain what had happened when Dipper had no memories about Bill? She shot a quick glance at Bill again, getting suddenly tense when she saw how dark the demon's expression had suddenly become, looking directly at the frozen Ford.

"He's a friend of ours, don't you remember?" she then tried, forcing a smile on her face, although she couldn't hide the sadness and worries in her eyes. Dipper couldn't understand why his sister had such a glint in her eye, unable to remember this person even if he was trying a lot.

Everyone turned when they saw Bill suddenly getting up, the aura around him feeling murderous, frightening Dipper. How was he their friend? He was looking so dangerous. But with a closer inspection, he could see mixed with the rage something deeper, as if he had lost something precious.

Mabel was suddenly worried Bill would attack her uncle, so did Stanley who went to block in front of his twin who hadn't moved from where he was since he had shot. To their surprise, Bill simply turned around to walk quickly away, giving a last desperate look at Dipper, although he couldn't find any trace of recognition in his eyes.

The demon knew that if he went and hurt the old man, Dipper would probably never forgive him, even less now that he had no memories of him. More he was thinking about it and more he was enraged and heartbroken. He was now a stranger to Dipper, he had never existed for him. He would have been fine with him only remembering what bad he did, at least it was something, now there was nothing.

He was hurting so much. He was starting to hate that human meat sack of a body and its feelings.

After his leave, the Pines family stayed without saying anything. Too many things were going in everyone's mind and too many emotion were mixing together. The more anxious and confused one was still Dipper who had no idea what had happened, but even if he was asking no one would really give him an answer.

Mabel suggested going back to the shack, saying they would talk about it later, that for now, they needed to make sure he was alright. Everyone tried to ignore the loud crashing noise they heard from afar, three of them knowing very well what it must have been.

Once at the Mystery Shack Ford went directly for his lab, ready to destroy for good the Memory gun. Even when it was done he hadn't gone upstairs, working on something else directly.

Stan and Mabel stayed with Dipper in the kitchen, checking to make sure he wasn't hurt. At least there was nothing on him physically, Bill had done a good job of protecting him in there fall. After that was done, they were trying to see what his memory still had. The young man wasn't sure why they looked so serious despite trying to hide it, going along with their questions, feeling like he wouldn't have any answers even if he asked some. He was still hoping he could get some from them later.

“Do you remember our first summer in Gravity Falls?”

“Of course, how could I forget that summer, it was one of the best”

“So you also remember all the adventure we had?”

"Mabel, I keep journals about those adventures and the thing we meet in them, how could I forget?"

"Just making sure" she said, trying to give him a smile to appease him.

“Did you came across a demon in that summer?”

“Of course not, it would have been way too dangerous dealing with that!”

Mabel and Stan looking at each other. It was like what they had thought, he had forgotten specifically about Bill, nothing else. Ford really had found a way to maybe get rid of the demon, but instead, he had messed up and erased Dipper's memory.

“Do you remember the sock opera?”

"I got badly injured all over my body, of course I remember that"

“But do you remember how you got them? What exactly happened?”

Dipper wanted to answer yet again that of course, he knew, but suddenly stopped himself, frowning. Actually no, he felt like something important was missing. How did he manage to get all those injuries? Also, why did he had those weird memories of being out of his own body? He could even remember someone trying to steal the journal, but he couldn't remember who. Was it Giddeon?

He suddenly felt uneasy again. Where were they going with all this? Why was it like he was missing some important pieces of his memory? Now that he was thinking about it, he could hardly remember what really happened at the end of the summer.

Seeing how anxious Dipper was starting to be, Mabel suddenly grabbed his hand, offering her most reassuring smile. "Don't worry brobro, I think you might just have knocked your head the wrong way, your memories will come back, I'm sure of it".

She was sounding hopeful. They managed to do it once with Stan, sure there were still moment where his memory would go, but at least he had it back. They could probably do it too with Bill. After all, it couldn't be harder than a whole life of memories, right?

She dropped her questioning, instead, she tried to get back into the subject of Bill, not bringing back anything from the past. She played it as a new friend they had made with whom Dipper was really close, trying to revive his memories with what she knew.

It was to say, the results weren't really good. They gave up in the late afternoon, Dipper saying he was getting tired and wanted to take a nap because his head was still hurting. Mabel wanted to keep trying but knew it wouldn't be better to just push him either, letting him go.

Once she was alone – Stan gone somewhere else when they started talking about Bill – She couldn't keep up her facade. She really wanted to cry.

A part of it was selfish. She didn't want to be the only one to remember that summer. She didn't want to be the only one stuck with some trauma. How could she deal with it when her twin wasn't here for her now? Even if he was trying to help now, how could he do it without understanding? Sure, it was better if he could forget the bad stuff, but she still didn't want to be the only one dealing with all this now. It was something they had lost as a bond.

Plus, Dipper wouldn't be fully Dipper with those memories gone. Even if it wasn't in the best of ways, the bad memories they had of Bill had forged who they were today, especially her twin. Dipper wouldn't be their Dipper without his full memories.

But another part, the stronger one, was saddened to see him forget Bill. She had never seen Dipper this close to someone else before. She hadn't seen him defend someone else this much, other than them. He was loving Bill so much he hadn't hesitated to jump before the Memory gun to protect the demon. Dipper did have crushes over the years, but she felt like it had never been like what he had now.

She had never seen her brother this much in love before and being loved back just as much, if not more.

As she thought of Bill, she swallowed back her tears, getting up. She needed to go and get him. Maybe he could help bring back Dipper's memories, for the better or for the worse.

She went outside and was surprised when she saw a silhouette standing in the tree line, looking at the shack. She hesitated a little, before slowly joining the demon.

It already had been a couple of hours and it was to say, Bill wasn't looking great at all. He clearly had cried, his eyes puffy and red, although it was hard to say for his black one, although he wasn't hiding it right now. He looked at Mabel with tired eyes. Clearly, he was drained from letting all his anger and pain out, yet he wasn't looking more... himself. He was still looking depressed and heartbroken.

She couldn't even come up with something to cheer him up a little. She had been unsure about the demon's feeling for her brother at first, but now she was more than sure. He had really fallen for her brother. Otherwise, why would he have reacted that way?

"His... memory hasn't come back... right?" guessed Bill, his voice hoarse, as if he had been screaming, which wouldn't be such a surprise.

“No... I tried making him remember the time you had recently, but it wouldn't help” she said, her normally joyous voice sounding more pessimistic than anything.

They stayed in silence for a moment, as they look at each other. Bill could see how troubled she was, could probably even guess why she was. Yet he had nothing to say to reassure her, it was his fault it all happen.

“Sorry” he whispered, Mabel nearly missing it. He had so much to apologies for, but for now it what he was starting with. He knew he wouldn't get forgiveness for what happened in the past even if he tried and wasn't expecting that anyway.

She frowned at his apologies. “Don't say that” she suddenly said, looking a little angry, “Dipper... He did that because he loves you, It not your fault” she said. “He... he wouldn't want to hear you apologies for that” she said.

She went on some rambling and mumbling about it, not being really coherent as she didn't have a clear idea of what to say. In the end, she took in a breath, stopping her mumbling, "Dipper loves you and he would do anything for the ones he loves, even sacrifice himself, you are not at fault, you... seem to have changed with him and none of us wanted to see it, you are not the one who asked him to jump and get the hit, I'm even sure you would have protected him yourself instead if you had known he would do that".

She looked back up at the demon, feeling somewhat guilty in the matter. She should have stopped Ford before he got to that point. She should have been a better help to them. She closed her eyes a little, trying not to get overwhelmed by the whole situation.

“We will find a way to bring back Dipper's memory” she said, sounding more hopeful and optimistic. She suddenly opened her arms, clearly waiting for Bill to get close to give her a hug.

The demon left a weak laugh escapes his mouth, going for the hug after some hesitation, hiding slightly in her shoulder as he let her comfort him. This body was so weak to emotion, it was so stupid to him, yet if he could feel love for and loved by Dipper again, he would keep it.

"Yes, let's bring him back" he whispered, Mabel satisfied with that response. They both stayed like this for a while, respectfully not bringing up the other's crying.

When they finally broke the hug it was as if no crying had happened, determination and hope in their eyes. Yes, they would find a way to bring back Dipper's memory, but for now, they needed to clean their faces from all the totally-not-crying they did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ain't sorry for doing it. I actually hesitated about making the end with Dipper losing his memories.


End file.
